The Gambler
by Mazoodle
Summary: Dean Winchester and Castiel Novak meet their senior year of high school, and together navigate the ups and downs of what life throws at them. Based off the song "The Gambler" by Fun., which if you haven't heard you need to listen to. Rated M for eventual smut.
1. We Were Barely Eighteen

**Chapter 1: We Were Barely Eighteen**

"Dean, wake up. I can't be late on the first day!" Dean groaned and pulled his pillow over his eyes, fighting against the light from the opened door.

"I'm not a girl, Sammy. I don't take three hours to get ready," he snapped back. Sam scowled.

"It's not Sammy, Dean. I'm a freshman now. Don't call me that."

Dean grinned as he sat up in bed and threw the covers off.

"Sorry, Sammy. Breakfast ready yet?" Sam frowned and shrugged.

"I don't know. Find out for yourself, jerk." He turned and walked down the hall.

"Bitch!" Dean called after him, stepping out of bed and picking up a clean shirt off his floor.

Ten minutes later, Dean pounded down the stairs and slid into his chair at the table. John Winchester looked up from his paper over the rim of his glasses and rolled his eyes as Dean nearly started to drool over the pancakes his mom had laid out for him.

"Are you excited for your first day, Dean?" Mary asked as she sat down next to John with her own plate.

"First day of your last year," John added. Dean grinned around a mouthful of breakfast.

"Yeah, I'm excited. Finally get to get out of there and work full-time for Bobby." Mary frowned.

"College, Dean," she reminded gently. He looked up at his mother and nodded.

"Yeah, college." Mary smiled and patted Dean's hand before cutting into her own pancakes.

"Where's Sam?" John asked, craning his neck to look to the stairs. Dean shrugged.

"Probably doing his makeup." Mary opened her mouth to reprimand Dean's teasing, but Sam hit the bottom step and smacked the back of Dean's head.

"I don't wear makeup, Dean. I just like to look nice." Dean batted his eyelashes at Sam mockingly.

"Quit it, boys," John intervened as Sam started to snap back. His voice was stern, but the glint in his eyes told them he was amused with their antics.

"Are you taking the Impala, Dean?" John asked his oldest child. Dean's face lit up.

"Can I?" he asked, trying to disguise the excitement in his voice. He did a poor job of it.

"Well you worked your ass off all summer to fix her up, so I'd say that's fair." Dean grinned.

"Great, I'm going to die before we get there," Sam moaned, dropping his head into his hands. Dean kicked him under the table.

"Ow! Watch it, Dean!" Sam cried out dramatically. Dean just laughed.

Dean took the drive to school very seriously. Before they left, he checked the air pressure in the tires of the car and even whipped a rag out of nowhere to polish a smudge on the passenger door. Sam stood behind him, sighing in impatience and checking the time on his phone at least twice before he pushed past Dean and threw open the door to the car.

"Watch it, Sam! Be careful with Baby!" Sam scowled petulantly and threw his bag in the back seat.

"It's a car, Dean. Now get in it and drive me to school!" Dean shook his head and patted the hood of the car as he walked by.

"Don't listen to him, Baby. You're more than just a car to me." He winked at Sam through the windshield as his younger brother threw his hands in the air with exasperation.

"Listen to that engine purr," Dean praised as he turned the key in the ignition and pulled out of the driveway.

"Christ, would you shut up about the car, Dean?" Sam exclaimed, crossing his arms over his chest and turning to look out the window as Dean put the car into gear and plowed forward.

"What's got your panties in a twist, Sam?" He glanced over at his brother, who refused to meet his gaze.

"I'm nervous," Sam eventually muttered back. Dean chuckled and reached over to ruffle Sam's hair. He jerked his head back and then looked apologetically up at Dean.

"What for?" Sam shrugged.

"I'm not you. I'm not cool or whatever," he answered quietly.

"You'll be fine, Sam. If anyone gives you trouble, tell me. I'll deal with it." Sam shook his head.

"Don't beat anyone up for me. Seriously. That'll make me look like a wimp." Dean smiled at his brother before they pulled into the parking lot. Dean circled for a solid five minutes, looking for a spot close to the front where he wouldn't be in danger of someone dinging up the car. When he finally found an acceptable place, Sam bolted out of the car and walked up the path to the school by himself, backpack hoisted up on his shoulders and head down.

Dean took his time walking in and emptying his things into his locker. He waved hello to a few of his friends as they passed by him in the hallway. A glance down at his schedule told him that he had biology first period, but there was still ten minutes until he had to be there.

"Well look who it is. Dean Winchester!" Dean glanced up and his face split into a goofy grin.

"Well Joanna Harvelle, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Dean jested, extending a hand to Jo. She slapped it away and laughed, pulling Dean into a tight hug.

"I didn't see you all summer, Dean! What gives?" She chastised, pulling back to smack Dean's shoulder.

"I was working on Baby all summer, Jo. You knew that." Jo stuck her tongue out and shook her head.

"An old Chevy over your little sister. I feel important," she teased, leaning against the locker next to Dean's, holding her books to her chest.

"I'll make it up to you," Dean promised. Jo smiled.

"Damn straight you will. Let me see your schedule." Dean handed her the piece of paper and she looked, eyebrows furrowed.

"Lunch, but that's it," she announced, handing Dean the piece of paper with a shrug.

"Damn." Dean tucked his schedule into the pocket of his leather jacket.

"How was your summer?" He asked. Jo sighed and shook her head.

"I didn't have one. Mom had me working bar all summer again. I can't tell you how many times I got hit on by creepy guys." Dean chuckled.

"You still working weekends, too?" Jo nodded.

"Yeah, but I can't serve you anymore. Mom got too pissed last time." Dean pouted momentarily but then Jo smacked his shoulder again.

"Get over it, Winchester. You can get your fix at somewhere other than the Roadhouse." The warning bell rang and Jo jumped back from the locker.

"See you at lunch, Dean! And you can make it up to me by giving me a ride home!" Dean nodded his agreement and grabbed his notebook for biology before heading down the hall.

He settled in to a seat in the back row and watched as the rest of the class filtered in. Friends sat next to each other and started mindlessly gossiping about their summers and stories they had heard. By the time the teacher walked in, every seat was taken except for the one next to Dean's, and it didn't look like any more students were coming in.

"Good morning class. I know it's early but could I please have you guys at least pretend to listen?" A few students chuckled as they turned in their seats towards the front of the room, where their teacher was standing in the center of the floor, looking them over.

"I recognize none of you. Excellent. Fresh meat." She grinned and a few more people laughed nervously.

"I'm Pamela Barnes, and you can call me Pamela. I don't want to hear Misses Barnes or Miss Barnes or Barnes. None of that. I'm just Pamela, understand?" The class nodded and Dean couldn't hold back a grin. He could tell he'd like this class.

"Now, let's try this again. Good morning class."

"Morning Pamela," several students replied. Pamela grinned and moved to her desk to grab the attendance roster.

"There are twenty-nine of you here. Who are we missing?" Her eyes danced around the room again, landing on the empty seat next to Dean's before she started calling out roll.

Twelve names in the door opened and a winded boy stepped in. His brown hair was so dark it was almost black, and he was wearing a pair of dark jeans and a long-sleeved, navy blue shirt. Dean watched as the boy glanced around the room, face red and hair disheveled.

"Well, you must be the missing student. What's your name, kid?" Pamela asked, glancing up from her clipboard.

"Castiel Novak," he answered, straightening up. A few people giggled at his name and Dean saw his eyes flick towards the students. Pamela looked disapprovingly towards the gigglers and then back at Castiel.

"Well hey there, Castiel. Why don't you take a seat next to Mister Handsome over there in the back," she said, gesturing towards Dean. Dean's face flushed and he slunk down in his chair slightly as Pamela winked at him. Castiel looked confused, but he nodded and walked quickly to where Pamela had pointed him, muttering an apology for his lateness.

"Hello," he greeted quietly as he sat.

"Hey. Name's Dean," Dean responded, offering his hand. Castiel shook it awkwardly.

"Dean," Castiel repeated, taking out a notebook and a folder. "It's nice to meet you." Dean nodded.

"Are you new?" he asked Castiel. The boy looked up at him and Dean sucked in a quick breath. He had the bluest eyes Dean had ever seen on anyone. They were like an ocean, expression plainly showing through them. Dean shook his head to clear the strange cloud of emotion that had appeared in his mind.

"Yes. I've lived here my whole life, but this is my first year of public school." Dean nodded.

"Homeschooled, then?" Castiel shook his head.

"No. Private schooled," he responded, looking up as Pamela called his name.

"Here," he said shortly. Pamela winked at him and moved on down the list.

"Why start public school now?" Castiel looked sharply at Dean and the eldest Winchester recoiled slightly at his scrutinizing glare.

"Sorry, man. Just curious." Castiel looked down at the paper and shook his head.

"My apologies, Dean. I'm slightly uncomfortable with the prospect of public schooling still." He spoke so formally that it took Dean a second to process what he had said.

"It's chill. Can I see your schedule?" Castiel nodded as he pulled out the piece of paper and handed it off to Dean.

"We seriously have every class together. Awesome. I can help show you around?" Dean offered as he handed the paper back. Castiel looked up at him and smiled.

"I'd like that, Dean. Thank you." Dean couldn't help the flush that rushed up the back of his neck at the sincerity of Castiel's words.

"No problem, Cas." Castiel squinted his eyes and Dean nearly instantly regretted shortening the name.

"Sorry, I meant Castiel," Dean mumbled awkwardly, running a hand over the back of his neck.

"No, it's alright. No one has ever called me anything except my given name before. I like it." He smiled at Dean.

"Cool. Cas it is," Dean decided, meeting Castiel's gaze.

Castiel's gaze was filled with so much intensity and meaning that Dean nearly fell of his chair with it. He wasn't just looking at Dean to look. It was like he was studying Dean's soul, trying to find out about him.

"And Mister Handsome must be Dean," Pamela announced, breaking the tension that was radiating around the boys in the back. Dean flushed again and waved at Pamela.

"That would be me, ma'am." Pamela winked at him again.

"Have we met before?" Dean asked quietly as Pamela set her clipboard down and passed around the syllabus for the class. Castiel shook his head.

"Are you sure?" Castiel nodded.

"Because I feel like I know you." Castiel nodded again.

"Yes, I know. I don't even know your last name," Castiel pointed out.

"Uh, Winchester," Dean mumbled, feeling stupid. He had basically used a pickup line on a guy he had just met, who he was pretty sure was straight.

"Well thank you, Dean Winchester, for being the first person to reach out to me." Castiel handed Dean a syllabus and then flipped to the second page, where Pamela was reading out lab safety instructions.

"And now if Mister Handsome and Blue Eyes would like to focus their attention to the front of the room, I'll continue on," Pamela drawled, looking pointedly at them, corners of her mouth turned up into a small smile. Castiel nodded his head and looked intently forward. Dean shrugged and leaned back in the seat. It looked like today was going to turn out alright.

When their lunch slot finally rolled around at noon, Dean took it upon himself to show Castiel the ropes of their school's lunch line. As they stepped out with their trays, Dean looked around the room and then pointed to a table.

"That's my brother," he pointed to Sam and then waved to catch Sam's attention. He gave Dean a little wave and then pretended to ignore his older brother. Dean chuckled and looked to Castiel.

"That's my brother," Castiel said, gesturing to where a boy was walking into the lunchroom, sucking on a lollipop and glancing around. Sam looked up when he walked in and waved to the boy, who made a beeline for the younger Winchester.

"It appears," Castiel said slowly, "that Gabriel and Sam know each other." Dean nodded and motioned for Cas to follow him to the table.

"Hey Sam. Calm down, we're not going to sit here." Sam exhaled and then looked up at Cas.

"Well hey Cassie," Gabriel exclaimed, winking at his older brother. Castiel seemed to visually stiffen.

"Hello, Gabriel." Castiel turned to Sam and extended his hand. "Castiel Novak. Dean has told me about you. It's good to meet you, Sam." Sam shook Cas' hand and then turned to Gabriel.

"So this is Cassie? Where are the other two?" Gabriel shrugged and sucked on the lollipop.

"Who cares?" Sam laughed and looked up at Dean.

"So, uh, bye now." Dean frowned at his brother.

"I can feel the love, Sammy. Nice meeting you, Gabriel." Gabriel waved goodbye to Dean and Castiel before turning to Sam and beginning an animated conversation about comic books.

"You have more than one sibling?" Dean asked as they sat down at an empty table. Castiel nodded.

"Yes, I have five." Dean whistled through his teeth.

"Your parents were busy," he joked. Cas offered him a small grin and nodded.

"I suppose so. Do you have just Sam, then?"

"Yup. Just me and Sammy," Dean answered around a mouthful of food. Castiel grimaced and shook his head.

"Sam is in Gabriel's grade?" Dean nodded and swallowed.

"Yeah, but he's smarter than anyone I've ever met. He basically has a shot at scholarships for anywhere he wants, but he really wants to go to Harvard. He can make it," Dean spoke fondly of his brother. Cas smiled.

"You're quite proud of him."

"Absolutely," Dean replied. "What about your siblings?" Castiel shrugged.

"My brother Uriel is the preacher at the church here. I think he's thirty-two now. Raphael is 30 and lives in California. He's going to school for something pretentious last I heard. Anael is 25. We don't speak to her. Michael, Lucifer and I are triplets, and Gabriel is fourteen," Castiel finished, slightly out of breath.

"Damn, that's a lot of kids. And Uriel sounds familiar. I don't go to church, but I know of it." Everyone knew of that church. It was notorious for it's strictness and devoutness.

"Yes, there are a lot of us," Castiel affirmed.

"Look, don't take this the wrong way… But Lucifer?" Dean asked incredulously. Castiel chuckled and nodded.

"Yes, our father had an obsession with angels. We're all named for them."

"And I thought I was named after something weird," Dean muttered. Castiel frowned.

"Angels aren't weird. Just their names." Dean laughed at Cas.

"Sorry, man. So where are your brothers?" Castiel shrugged.

"Michael is in the library. Lucifer is probably with him." Dean raised his eyebrows.

"The library during lunch. Why?" Castiel sighed and pulled out his cellphone, checking a message.

"Because Michael doesn't want to associate with the 'sinners' of the school. He's a bit of a fanatic," Castiel replied, sliding his phone shut.

"Wow, harsh. Only half of us are sinners," Dean winked. Castiel shook his head, a smile playing at the corners of his lips.

"I think Lucifer will be joining us, if that's alright." Dean shrugged.

"That's fine with me. Jo should be around in a sec, too."

"Jo?" Castiel asked, craning his head as he looked for his brother.

"Yeah, my friend Jo," Dean responded. Cas nodded and then waved a hand in the air, motioning over a tall, fair-haired boy. He was wearing a white sweatshirt and dark jeans, and looked nothing like Castiel.

"Hey Cassie. Who's your friend?" Castiel frowned.

"Would you all stop calling me that? It's Castiel." Lucifer shrugged and plopped down next to his brother.

"I know your name, Castiel. I prefer to make your life unbearable. My job as a big brother." Castiel frowned again.

"You're older by two minutes, Lucifer. Shut it." Lucifer sighed dramatically.

"Oh, I'm so wounded. Your words hurt, darling brother." Castiel grew red and looked at Dean apologetically.

"Dean, this is Lucifer. Lucifer, this is my friend Dean." Lucifer nodded at Dean.

"Nice to meet you, Dean." Dean opened his mouth to say the same, but suddenly Jo was sitting down next to him, a firestorm of blond curls and anger.

"I freaking _hate_ this place. Honestly! My classes are filled with idiots and I have no friends!" She huffed, slamming her tray down.

"Hello to you, too," Dean muttered sarcastically. Jo looked up from her tray and noticed the other two boys there.

"Oh, God. I'm sorry. Who are these strapping young lads?" She teased.

"My name is Castiel. This is my brother." Jo waved to Cas and then looked at Lucifer.

"Hey, brother of Castiel. Got a name?" Lucifer smirked and leaned forward, putting his elbows on the table and folded his fingers under his chin.

"The name's Lucifer, like the devil. Except I am far cooler." Jo blushed as Lucifer reached across the table to shake her hand. Dean scowled at him.

"I'm Jo," she responded breathlessly. Dean gaped. Jo never flirted with guys.

"Hello Jo. Quite the beauty." Lucifer winked at her and Dean nearly growled.

"Watch it," he muttered. Jo slapped him on the shoulder.

"Is the lady taken?" Lucifer asked, eyeing Dean up. Dean shook his head.

"No, but the lady is like my little sister." Jo sighed.

"Honestly, _big brother_. I work at a bar. I can handle myself." Lucifer chuckled and Castiel shook his head.

"Please ignore my brother. He has an issue with boundaries," Castiel explained, shooting Lucifer a scathing glare. Lucifer shrugged.

"What else can I say when confronted by such a gorgeous woman like Jo?" Dean nearly gagged as Jo uncharacteristically giggled; hand over her mouth like she was in some sort of old film.

"Lucifer," Castiel snapped. Lucifer looked up at Castiel and batted his eyelashes.

"Yes, little bro?" Castiel's face reddened again and he took a shaking breath, obviously irritated with his brother.

"Will Michael be joining us?" Lucifer laughed and shook his head.

"No, and that was a stupid question. Of course he won't eat lunch with us. He doesn't want to associate with anyone of the 'lower faith'," Lucifer responded, putting air-quotes around the last part. Castiel sighed.

"So is Michael more devout than you two or whatever?" Dean asked. Lucifer and Castiel both nodded in unison.

"Without a doubt. He's almost as bad as dad," Lucifer chuckled.

"Father wasn't that bad, Lucifer," Castiel chastised. Lucifer rolled his eyes.

"Dad was insane, Cassie." Lucifer switched his gaze back to Jo. "He wouldn't even let us watch television. Hell, we still can't."

"Well maybe you can come over sometime and watch it at my house," she offered. Lucifer grinned and nodded.

"I'd love that. Can I get your number?" Dean nearly vomited in his mouth and Castiel offered a solitary shake of his head.

"Hey, Cas, you should give me your number, too," Dean said suddenly. Castiel nodded and took out his cellphone, opening a new contact page and handing it over to Dean. He put his number in and then sent a text to his phone.

"Sweet," Dean grinned. Castiel smiled back. Jo watched the exchange with a slight smirk.

* * *

Dean dropped Sam off at home and ran in to tell his parents that he was going to the Roadhouse for a few hours to hang out with Jo and do homework together.

"You like him," Jo announced as soon as Dean climbed back in the car. He remained silent, ignoring Jo's stare as he pulled out of his driveway and headed in the direction of the Roadhouse.

"Don't you ignore me, Dean Winchester. You like Castiel." Dean shrugged.

"So what if I do? Didn't you hear him talk about his family? He's straighter than a rod and more Catholic than I can handle," he grumbled.

"That boy is _not_ straight, Dean. He looks at you like you're a prime rib." Dean shuddered at the imagery.

"No, he's just really weird. He's like that with everyone." Jo shook her head.

"He barely glanced at me, Dean. I'm telling you; _prime rib_." Dean groaned in annoyance.

"Shut it, Jo. Sometimes I regret telling you that I'm gay," he muttered. Jo laughed.

"No you don't. You like to gossip about boys with me," she reminded him. Dean shook his head and chuckled.

"I don't know why. You have awful taste in men, Jo. I mean, his name is Lucifer. Really, Jo? Really?" Jo stuck her tongue out at Dean.

"He's hotter than Hell, Dean. And charming."

"The charming ones are usually the worst, Jo. Look at me." It was true. Dean had a notorious reputation for dating and breaking the hearts of all the girls. All through high school he had been the definition of a lady's man, but it had all come to a screeching halt midway through last year when Dean realized that he was, as Jo put it, "Gayer than a fashion magazine". She insisted that she had known the entire time, and Dean and made her swear to keep her mouth shut. He had no idea how his parents or Sam felt about gay things, and he didn't want to find out in a bad way.

"Are you telling me that Lucifer will date the entire school and then realize that he's gay?" she teased.

"No. Just watch yourself, alright?" Jo nodded, her way of dropping the subject. She didn't bring it back up until they were halfway through their homework.

"Let's talk more about Castiel." Dean put his sheet down and glared at her.

"Can't let it drop, can you?" Jo laughed.

"Nope. Have you texted him yet?" she asked, crossing her arms and leaning back in the booth they had occupied in the corner of the noisy bar.

"Don't have a reason to." Jo rolled her eyes.

"You don't need a reason, idiot. Make one up if you're that much of a bitch." Dean straightened up and scowled.

"I'm not a bitch, Jo. I just don't want to be creepy and hit on my _straight_ friend."

"Not straight!" Jo sang.

Dean opened his mouth to snap back at her, but his phone vibrated in his pocket and he nearly dropped his schoolwork in his rush to pull it out.

"Is it your boyfriend?" Jo asked, leaning across the table to see.

"Not my boyfriend. Not even interested," Dean reminded, opening up the text.

"_This is Castiel. I just wanted to thank you for making my first day at school bearable. Lucifer wants to thank you for letting him with us at lunch._" Jo read the message upside down and grinned.

"A flaming heterosexual," she said, voice laced with sarcasm. Dean ignored her.

"_Hey Cas, no problem. See you tomorrow._"

"That's it?" Jo demanded. "No declarations of love?"

"I'm about done with you, Joanna Beth Harvelle," Dean snapped.

"Did I just hear my girl's full name? What'd she do this time, Dean?" Dean looked up to see Ellen Harvelle smiling at him, two bottles of root beer in her hand and an old towel slung over her shoulder.

"I refuse to stay out of his sex life," Jo answered, taking the root beers from her mom and handing one to Dean.

"Do not need to know, Jo. You tell her, Dean." Ellen winked as she walked away.

"Have you heard from Satan yet?" Dean asked, aiming for some payback.

"I've been texting him since we left school. He's coming over Thursday," Jo answered triumphantly.

"Fantastic," Dean answered blandly, reading another message on his phone.

"_See you tomorrow, Dean Winchester_." Dean's heart fluttered for some reason and he was sure his face grew an uncomfortable shade of red. Just as he was slipping his phone away, another text rang in.

"_I'm sorry if this is a strange question, but do you know of anything to do in this town? I haven't really had time for activities because of the private school, but I find myself with quite a lot of time on my hands now._" Dean's face split into a wide smile and Jo scrambled across the table to see what the text said.

"_There's only stuff to do if you know the right places to go. You free this weekend?_" He hesitated a moment before Jo nudged him in encouragement and all but reached for his phone to send the text herself.

"If I just screwed over a new friendship, I will string you from the rafters," he threatened. Jo just laughed and shook her head.

"For a gay guy, your gaydar is sadly lacking."

Dean's phone buzzed.

"_Yes, I am free. Does Friday after school work for you_?" Dean looked up at Jo.

"You up for a party on Friday?" Jo grinned.

"Oh, absolutely."

* * *

The week seemed to crawl by after the first day. Dean's only drive to get up and go to school was to see Castiel, not that he would ever admit that to anyone. As the week progressed, he started to notice some things about Castiel.

For one, his eyes always looked different. They were still the same brilliant shade of blue, but there was always different expressions playing in them.

Secondly, the dude had a major personal space issue. He was always standing close enough to Dean that their arms were touching, or when they sat next to each other, knees were in constantly contact. He reached out to touch Dean's arm or shoulder to get his attention more than what was socially acceptable.

Thirdly, he stared at Dean constantly. Every time Dean glanced over, Castiel was openly staring at him, blue eyes narrowed slightly. He didn't even bother looking away when Dean noticed him. He would just narrow his eyes more and nod.

Perhaps most concerning was that Dean honestly didn't care. If it had been anyone else boring holes into his head with their unrelenting gaze, it would have probably concerned him. But it was Cas, and that was fine.

As the week wore on, Castiel opened up more about his family and his life before then. Castiel told him bits and pieces of his family's history; their father had died six months ago and Uriel couldn't afford to send them to the private school anymore. They didn't speak to Anael because she had left the church and Uriel had forbidden them from speaking to her. Raphael was on decent terms with his them because he still had faith, but Uriel and their father hadn't approved of his decision to stray from the family.

Michael had been the closest to their father and Uriel, and was devastated when their father had died. He turned to his faith and depended on it more than ever before, and it had started driving a wedge between himself and Lucifer and Cas. It didn't bother either of them much, though. Michael had always been what Dean could only describe as a dick to his younger siblings. He didn't even speak to Gabriel unless it was to reprimand him.

Lucifer and Gabriel caused the most trouble around the house. Both of them had reserved beliefs about religion, and had made it clear to Michael and Uriel that they thought they were taking it too far. Castiel shared their beliefs but kept them to himself, not wanting to cause strain in the house.

"It's like we're always walking on eggshells," Castiel had explained. "One wrong move can set off Michael or Uriel, and then there's always some sort of punishment or prayer for our wrongdoings."

In turn, Dean told Castiel about his family. He talked about his mom and dad, who had been high school sweethearts and had gotten married right out of their senior year. His dad joined the navy and he and Mary had moved around a lot in the early years of their marriage. When his dad was finally done, they had settled down in Lawrence, Kansas and Mary went to school to get her teaching license while John and Bobby opened up an auto-shop. They had had Dean shortly after that, and Sam came along four years later. Dean had told Castiel that he hadn't initially wanted to go to college, but he was going to because he wanted Mary to be proud of him. He talked about Sam some more, and about how proud he was of his little brother. Dean found it easy to open up to Castiel, and Castiel liked to listen.

* * *

Thursday night found Dean and Jo cleaning out the Roadhouse, setting up for the party the next day. Ellen had been nice enough agree to close up shop for the night and let the kids have their party as long as Jo had complied to scrub the place down.

"God, this place is filthy," Jo complained as she opened up another garbage bag. Dean nodded. He was sweeping the floors and sweating. They had been at it for two hours and had just finished clearing out all the old bottles of beer and whiskey that had accumulated.

"Who's coming tomorrow?" he asked. Jo shrugged.

"Most of the grade, I think. They usually show up when I throw parties," Jo smirked. "Did you invite Sam?" Dean shook his head sharply.

"Hell no. I think he's having Gabriel over, anyways." Gabriel and Sam had instantly become friends. The youngest Novak was always around Sam, and Sam didn't seem to care in the slightest. Dean was secretly relieved that Sam had found a decent friend so quickly in the school.

"Hey, do Castiel and Lucifer even drink?" Jo asked suddenly. Dean paused and then slowly shook his head.

"No, I don't think so. I mean, I really doubt it. We can just have sodas." Jo nodded.

"That's fine. I don't want to have to worry about sneaking alcohol. Mom will kill me if she finds out." Dean laughed.

"Ellen wouldn't hurt a fly."

"That's what you think, but you're not her daughter," Jo pointed out, throwing another garbage bag to Dean to put on the pile.

"So how are things with Castiel?" Jo asked, leaning against the wall. Dean shrugged.

"Same as always. He's been telling me about his family recently. They're just as crazy as we thought. His older sister left their church and they don't even talk to her anymore because of it." Jo whistled through her teeth.

"Damn. That's not right." Dean shook his head and tried to imagine himself shunning Sam from his life. He couldn't even imagine being mad enough at Sam to do that.

"Hey, Dean, I know you don't want to talk about this anymore but I can't help it," Jo started. Dean sighed and prepared himself.

"About Cas?"

"Yeah, about Cas. Does he know?" Dean scoffed.

"That I like guys? No. It was hard enough to tell you, Jo. And you're not obsessed with God." Jo rolled her eyes.

"Have you told your parents yet?" Dean shook his head.

"Sam?" Another no.

"Jesus, Dean. Why not?" Dean shrugged irritably.

"I don't know, Jo. I don't know how they'd react to it. Can we drop it, please?" Jo nodded sadly and went back to sweeping.

"I didn't mean to snap, Jo. C'mere." Dean opened his arms and walked over to Jo, hugging her too tightly.

"You big softie," Jo muttered. Dean laughed.

* * *

"Castiel, it is time for the evening meal and prayer." Castiel looked up from his textbook and to his door, which Michael was standing in.

"I will be down in a moment, brother." Michael nodded stiffly and then disappeared. Castiel listened to his footsteps down the stairs before he stood and stretched, walking into the bathroom off his bedroom to wash up for dinner. He had been trying to study for an exam that was two weeks away, but he was having a hard time focusing. He still hadn't asked for Uriel's permission to go to the party that Dean was having the next day, and he wasn't entirely sure how he was going to go about that. He had never before asked Uriel if he could do anything, much less go to an unsupervised party.

"Hey bro," Lucifer greeted as he walked into the room they shared. He dumped his backpack on the bed and collapsed quickly after it, phone out and texting before he hit the pillow.

"Hello, Lucifer. Have you asked Uriel about tomorrow yet?" Lucifer shook his head.

"I was going to let you handle that. He likes you more." Castiel shook his head, tempted to roll his eyes.

"He loves us all." Lucifer sighed dramatically and sat up.

"Yes, but he likes you the most," Lucifer reiterated. Castiel nodded.

"I'll ask him over dinner. Tell him that we're going to a friend's to study." As soon as the words left Castiel's mouth he felt guilty. Lucifer watched his brother crease his eyebrows and sighed.

"Lying's not always bad, Castiel. Especially when it's Uriel." Castiel nodded.

"It's dinnertime," Lucifer said, standing and waiting for his brother. Castiel nodded and followed Lucifer down the stairs.

The Novak house was large by anyone's standards. Their father had been wealthy during his life, and had treated his sons and daughters well. There were five bedrooms and four bathrooms spread across three levels and a basement. Uriel took up residence in the basement, where he could be virtually alone to do his studies. Lucifer and Castiel shared a room with an attached bathroom on the top level. Michael took the room next to him. Gabriel had the only room on the main floor. The empty rooms where Anael and Raphael used to sleep had been turned into offices. Their father's bedroom remained uninhabited. Castiel didn't even know if anyone had opened it since his death. He didn't really care to know. Castiel had never been close with his father.

The dining room was silent as always. Michael and Uriel were already seated, Uriel at the head of the large oak table and Michael to his right. Lucifer sat to the right of Michael and Castiel sat across the table from Lucifer, glancing up at his brother. His head was bowed, eyes closed in prayer. Michael and Uriel were also praying and seemed to not notice their arrival. Castiel followed their lead, and felt more than heard when Gabriel slid into the seat next to him.

Castiel knew he should be praying to thank for the food that had been provided for him, but he couldn't bring himself to say the proper prayer. Instead, he thought a quick, shortened prayer and kept his head bowed until Uriel cleared his throat in a signal to look up.

Talking wasn't allowed during dinner. They ate in silence as a way of thanking the Lord for their meal.

"Gabriel, would you clear the table for us?" Uriel asked at the end of dinner. Gabriel nodded and began collecting plates, haphazardly piling them atop each other and walking into the kitchen.

"Now, brothers, we shall talk." Uriel settled his folded hands on the table and looked to the triplets as he waited for Gabriel to return from the kitchen.

"How has your first week of public school been? Michael?" Gabriel looked to Michael and waited.

"It has been fine, brother. Their lack of faith is concerning, but I'm spreading God's word, just as He would want." Uriel nodded in approval and Michael stood and left the room. Uriel looked to Lucifer and waited.

"I am enjoying public school," Lucifer said as formally as he could. "I am learning much and I, too, am finding opportunities to spread the Word of God." Uriel nodded again and Lucifer stood, shooting a glance at Castiel before he walked up the stairs.

"And you, Castiel?" Cas cleared his throat.

"It is good. I've made two friends, and have been spreading the Word." Uriel frowned.

"And these friends, Castiel? Would father approve?" Castiel wasn't sure if Uriel was speaking of God or of their biological father, so he settled for a simple, "Yes, I believe so." Uriel paused for a moment before nodding as well.

"I have a question, brother," Castiel started. Uriel nodded and waited for Castiel to continue.

"Tomorrow after school, my friends are having a study session. May Lucifer and I go?" Uriel frowned and tapped his fingers on the table.

"Will there be alcohol there?"

"No." His frown lessened.

"You must be back before midnight, brother." Castiel smiled slightly in thanks and nearly sprinted up the stairs. Lucifer was waiting for him.

"Did you ask?" he demanded as soon as Castiel shut the door.

"Yes. He said we could go."

"Yes!" Lucifer exclaimed, pulling out his phone to text Jo.

Castiel sat on his bed and pulled out his cellphone, opening a text to Dean. His heart thumped as he typed, as it always did when he texted his friend.

"_Lucifer and I can make it tomorrow night. Can you give me an address?_" he sent the text and set his phone aside, popping open his textbook again.

"You're such a bore, brother. Do you do anything other than study?" Castiel ignored Lucifer, his attention drawn to his phone.

"_I can drive you. Party's at five. I'll pick you up. What's your address? And I was wondering if you wanted to crash at my place after._" Castiel's stomach lurched.

"_I will ask Uriel, but I'm sure it will be fine._" Castiel typed his address down and turned to Lucifer, who was still trying to get his attention.

"Castiel," he whined, "Pay attention to me." Cas looked up at him incredulously.

"For an older brother, you are terribly immature," Castiel responded calmly. Lucifer shrugged.

"I'm only two minutes older," he muttered. Castiel smiled, reaching for his phone.

"_Sounds good. See you tomorrow in class. Have a good night, Cas! :-)_". Castiel couldn't help the smile that split across his face.

"My point proven," he answered Lucifer. His brother scowled and his phone buzzed.

"Do you like Jo?" Castiel asked, watching his brother smile as he answered the text.

"Yes. Quite a bit, actually," he answered honestly. Castiel grinned.

"That's good. She's a very nice girl." Lucifer smiled and nodded.

"Uriel wouldn't approve, but he never does." Castiel nodded in agreement.

"Have you met anyone, brother?" Castiel's heart jumped into his throat and he swallowed loudly. _Just Dean_, he thought, but he didn't dare say that aloud.

The intensity of Castiel's feelings towards Dean scared him. There had been lots of beautiful girls at his private school, but he had never paid any attention to them. He had never wanted to. Never before had Castiel even thought about having profound feelings for anyone. None of the girls had interested him. It had crossed his mind before that he might be gay, but he had dismissed the thoughts quickly. They taught nearly every day that homosexuality was wrong, and Castiel aimed to live in life the way the Lord had intended. But did the Lord not also love everyone equally? Castiel had found more flaws in Uriel's and his school's teachings in the past week than he had thought possible.

Castiel had never thought he'd find someone to share a bond with like his mother and father had had together, but then there was Dean, and how he felt about Dean seemed to be beyond his grasp of words. It was something powerful, profound. It scared him.

"Earth to Castiel," Lucifer said loudly in his ear, snapping his fingers in front of Cas' face.

"No, I haven't. Sorry, I was focusing," Castiel muttered.

"On the wall?" Lucifer asked skeptically.

"I'm a bit preoccupied, Lucifer," Castiel snipped. Lucifer put his hands in the air, face twisted in mock hurt.

"Point taken. Be a nerd." Castiel didn't dignify Lucifer with a response.

"You've been irritable this week," Lucifer said slowly. Castiel ignored him.

"You know you can talk to me, brother," Lucifer said softly. "You know that I will love you no matter what you have to say." Castiel looked up at him, taken aback by Lucifer's uncharacteristic kindness.

"Yes, Lucifer. I know." Lucifer smiled and pulled his homework from his backpack.

The brothers spent the rest of their evening in quiet, finishing their homework and thinking distractedly of the next day.


	2. Then You Turned, Put Out Your Hand

**Chapter 2: Then You Turned, Put Out Your Hand And You Asked Me To Dance**

When Dean was behind the wheel of Baby, he usually felt like he could take on the world with just him and his car and miles of open pavement. At that exact moment, though, Dean felt very small in his car. He was parked in the Castiel's driveway, looking up at the massive house with trepidation curling at the base of his spine. He had known when Cas had given him his address that they were in a wealthier part of Lawrence, but this had gone beyond what Dean had managed to think up. Any word to describe the house other than 'mansion' wasn't doing it justice. It was _massive_. And imposing. And, from what Dean gathered of Castiel's description, was filled with Catholic creepiness.

He took a deep breath before he turned his keys in the ignition and stepped out of the car, straightening his leather jacket before he walked as confidently as he could up the walkway to the front door. The path was lined with well-tended gardens filled with flowers Dean was sure his mother could identify, but he had no idea. The front door was wide and tall, surrounded by clear glass panes that had no smudges or spots on them. Dean thought of his own front door, with a little bit of peeling paint and a handle that sometimes fell off. He pushed back a feeling of inadequacy before he took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

A large, bald man answered almost immediately. He was wearing a grey suit and his shoes shined like he had just polished them. He looked down at Dean with an expressionless face.

"May I help you?" He asked. Dean straightened up and made eye contact with the man at the door.

"Yes sir. My name is Dean Winchester and I'm here to pick up Castiel and Lucifer." Dean offered the man his hand to shake, just like John had taught him all those years ago.

"It's pleasant to meet you, Dean. I am Uriel Novak. Please, come in." Uriel shook his hand and stepped aside, motioning for Dean to follow him. Dean nodded before he stepped in after Uriel, centering himself on the carpet and trying not to gape. The house was huge on the inside: a large staircase with mahogany handrails and steps, an office to his right, the dining room with the large table to his left. Everything was trim and crown molding, neutral colors and oil paintings. Dean looked and felt incredibly out of place in his faded denim, work boots, AC/DC t-shirt and leather jacket.

"I'll call Castiel in a moment. Can you tell me a bit about your plans for the evening?" Dean nodded. Castiel had prepared him for the line of questioning.

"Definitely. We're headed over to my friend Jo's house to study and watch movies." Uriel nodded.

"Jo is a girl?" Dean grinned and nodded.

"Yes sir." Uriel frowned.

"Is this going to be supervised?" Dean nodded again.

"Jo's mom will be around," he lied, grinning again. Uriel nodded, seemingly pleased with the answers Dean had provided.

"Now Dean, tell me about your family." Castiel had warned him about this question, too.

"My dad's name is John and he works for an auto shop with my uncle Bobby. My mom's name is Mary and she's a teacher here. My younger brother is Sam, and he's the smartest person I've ever met. Great kid." Dean didn't have to fake his pride.

"And Gabriel is over at your house with Sam now?" Uriel asked.

"That's right, sir." Uriel straightened his jacket and nodded again, clearing his throat.

"Well that's very nice. I'll go get Castiel and Lucifer for you." Dean nodded his thanks and as soon as Uriel disappeared up the stairs he let himself relax. It had been a while since he had talked to an adult and tried to impress, but he felt like he had done a good enough job. At least Uriel was still letting Cas and Lucifer out that night.

A few minutes later, the three of them filtered down the stairs with Uriel leading and Lucifer and Cas trailing behind, heads down and silent. The whole situation was stiff and formal, and Castiel and Lucifer looked too submissive, too controlled for Dean's liking.

"Lucifer, I expect you home by midnight. Castiel, please be home at a decent time tomorrow morning. I trust you both to follow the expectations set forth by our Lord and myself. Do you understand?" Uriel asked, standing in front of the boys.

"Yes, brother," they both responded, Castiel slightly faster than Lucifer. Uriel nodded and then turned to Dean.

"Don't make a mockery of my brothers," he said shortly before disappearing into the office, shutting the door quickly behind him. The curtains on the door drew shut shortly after, leaving Dean staring at the door, blinking in confusion. Castiel's face flushed red with barely controlled anger.

"Go," he said sharply to Dean, pushing him towards the door. Dean opened it and Castiel all but shoved them out, slamming the door pointedly behind him.

"Hey, Cas. Calm down," Dean said as Castiel gently slammed the door to the Impala shut. Lucifer squeezed himself into the backseat and remained silent, watching his brother's anger unravel his normally calm façade.

"No, Dean. Uriel's behavior is unacceptably rude," Castiel snapped, shoving his seatbelt in with more force than necessary.

"Watch the car," Dean shot back, pulling out the driveway.

"My apologies," Castiel muttered, looking out the window in annoyance.

"Lover's quarrel?" Lucifer asked seriously from the backseat. Dean nearly slammed on the brakes out of surprise and Castiel yelped, spinning around to face Lucifer.

"No," he bit out. "Shut up." Dean rubbed a hand at the back of his neck and Lucifer raised his hands in defense.

"Just trying to lighten the mood," he pointed out. Castiel scowled.

"Cas, it's alright. You told me he was kind of a dick. Doesn't surprise me," Dean reassured. Cas nodded shortly and continued to stare out the window.

When Dean pulled into the parking lot at the Roadhouse it was already half full. He could hear the music pouring from the bar, stretching with the lights from the windows across the parking lot. It was nearly seven. Dean had insisted they couldn't show up at five because no one else would be there. Secretly, he wanted to avoid see Jo and Lucifer alone. It made him mildly sick to his stomach to see them flirt.

Lucifer somehow managed to worm out of the car and launch himself halfway across the parking lot before Dean and Castiel had even gotten out.

"I'll see you later!" He called over his shoulder, jogging into the Roadhouse. Dean and Cas followed quickly.

"Hey Dean! Put some money in the jar!" Jo called over the music, motioning to a jar she had set out to help pay for the copious amounts of drinks that were being dealt out. She was behind the bar, Lucifer at her side, serving sodas and water to the mildly disappointed high school seniors, some of which had been expecting alcohol.

"Hey Jo!" Dean broke away from Cas to reach over the bar and hug Jo, dropping ten dollars into the jar as he stepped back. Cas stood awkwardly at the door, surveying the damage within.

All of the tables in the center of the floor had been pushed off to the side or shoved into back rooms. The lights were dimmed, and the makeshift dance floor was crawling with people. Most, if not all, of their grade was there. Three hundred people jammed into one bar, dancing and laughing. It was loud, sweaty and awesome. Castiel had never seen so many people jammed into one place, and he'd never seen such obscene dancing.

"You okay, Cas?" Dean asked, touching Castiel's shoulder gently. Cas jumped and nodded.

"Yes, sorry. It's very loud. And very crowded," Castiel responded. Dean chuckled and dragged Castiel to the bar.

"What are you serving, bar lady?" Dean yelled as he sat down at an empty seat, motioning for Castiel to join him.

"Any type of soda and water, Dean. No exceptions!" Jo winked at him and Lucifer laughed, slipping his arm around her waist. He looked to Castiel to see if his younger brother would say anything, but Castiel just smiled. He knew how much Lucifer liked Jo. Dean pointedly ignored the touching.

"Coke, then. Cas, what do you want?" Castiel looked up.

"I've never had soda before," he muttered, cheeks coloring slightly. Dean raised an eyebrow.

"Are you serious?" Castiel nodded and Lucifer chuckled. Jo had moved to the other side of the bar to refill a few of their classmates' drinks.

"Lucifer, what are you drinking?" Castiel asked. Lucifer shrugged.

"I think it's Sprite or something." Castiel nodded and Jo came back around, filling a glass for Dean and looking to Castiel expectantly.

"What Lucifer's drinking, please." Jo grinned and filled a glass, handing it over to Castiel. Dean watched expectantly as Castiel hesitantly raised the cup to his lips and took a sip.

"It's sweet," he commented, pursing his lips and studying the liquid.

"Sweet like you!" Jo jested, elbowing Cas across the counter. He blushed and looked at Dean. Dean scowled at Jo and Lucifer burst into laughter.

An hour later, Jo traded places with one of her friends and let Lucifer lead her out onto the dance floor. Whoever had been choosing the music had let on a string of slow songs, and Lucifer had apparently been in the mood to dance. Dean and Castiel remained at the bar, glancing over to catch glimpses of Lucifer spinning Jo around like he was some kind of professional and to see Jo laughing and blushing when he pulled her in close and whispered in her ear.

"He really likes her," Cas commented offhandedly when he saw Dean's scowl. Dean glanced over to Castiel and his lips curved into a slight smile. Castiel was smiling broadly at his brother, obviously pleased that Lucifer was happy.

"Yeah, I know. I just worry about her." Castiel nodded.

"Lucifer will not harm her, Dean. He acts like he's tough and a bit loose, but he has a kind heart. Many people judge him based on his name and the attitude he has, but Lucifer is a great man. I'm very proud to be his brother." Dean blinked at Castiel's calm, casual vouch for Lucifer.

"He should be pretty proud to be yours, too," Dean muttered, looking back to Jo. She had her arms around Lucifer's neck and his were on her waist, a respectable distance from her hips. She was smiling, happier than Dean had seen her in a long time.

"He has no reason to be," Castiel responded solemnly. "Neither does Michael." Dean glanced over at Cas. He was fidgeting with the edge of his shirt, for once not meeting Dean's eyes.

"Look, I know that Lucifer is proud of you. He looks at you the same way I look at Sammy. Michael's just a dick." Castiel chuckled and nodded.

"Yes, Michael is a dick." Dean choked on his drink.

"Did you just say that?" Castiel smirked and nodded.

"I'm a bad influence on you," Dean laughed.

"I'm alright with that, Dean," Castiel said, touching Dean's arm. They locked gazes for a moment, Castiel's blue eyes startlingly bright in the dim room, a small smile playing on his lips, and Dean's green ones, confusion-stricken. His heart thumped painfully in his chest and he felt like he couldn't breathe. What was happening? Was Castiel hitting on him, or was Cas just being Cas?

The song that was playing was soft and slow, and couples had paired up during it. Just as Dean opened his mouth to ask Castiel about the hand that was still on his arm, the song changed and the moment broke as the tempo picked up. Dean blinked and Castiel quickly moved his arm back, looking around as people began to resume their previous dance, which seemed to consist mostly of grinding.

"Come on, Cas. You gotta dance tonight," Dean decided, grabbing Castiel and pulling him towards the music.

"Dean, I don't dance. I haven't got anyone to dance with," he protested as Dean pulled him through the center of the floor and to the opposite side of the room. No one seemed to notice Dean Winchester pulling the new kid through the floor. They were either too busy with their friends or dates or just didn't care. It was an advantage of having a decent-sized grade and an establishment barely big enough to hold them.

"You can dance with me," Dean blurted out, pulling Cas out in front of him. Dean swayed on his feet a moment. He wasn't a terrible dancer, but he wasn't the best either. He started rocking with the music, laughing as Castiel stood uncomfortably, rocking on the balls of his feet.

"Just move, Cas. It's fun." Castiel seemed to glare at him for a moment before he started to move in time with the song.

The floor was packed tight and people occasionally bumped into Dean or Cas, pushing them towards each other. Dean watched Castiel loosen up as the song progressed. His movements became less stiff and more natural, and he even was smiling more than he usually did.

Castiel was gorgeous, Dean realized. He had never seen anyone that looked better than Castiel did in that moment. His hair looked like he had just rolled out of bed, sticking out from the sweat and humidity, his shirt was slipping down on his neck and the very edge of his collarbone appeared for a moment. His jeans were riding low on his hips, the elastic edge of his briefs barely showing at some points. Dean swallowed hard when Castiel looked up at him, eyes shining and smiling.

Castiel didn't know what it was that had finally changed his mind. It may have been what Lucifer had said, or what Uriel had said to Dean, or it might have been the way Dean laughed when Castiel had tasted the soda for the first time. It could have been the way that Dean cared about Jo and Sam, or the way that Dean cared about him. Or maybe, Castiel thought as he stepped closer to Dean, it was just _Dean_. Cas didn't need a reason to like Dean; he just knew that he did. He liked Dean a _lot_, and Dean was standing in front of him in a worn t-shirt with a faded logo stretching across it, in jeans that fit him so well it was almost _sinful_, face flushed and eyes almost hungry.

"What's wrong?" He yelled over the music. Dean shook his head and smiled.

"Nothing! Just thinking," Dean answered, pulling of his jacket. He looked around for a place to hang it, but couldn't find one.

"Come with me for a sec," he called over the music, motioning for Castiel to follow him. He led them from the floor and into the back room. The music was a quieter, muffled sound in here and it was considerably cooler than it had been out on the floor.

Castiel shut the door behind him.

"You were staring at me," he noted. Dean shrugged. He half-registered the song changing.

"Sorry?" Cas smiled and stepped a half step closer to Dean.

"Don't be." Dean's throat tightened and Cas was stepping forward again, too close to Dean to be mistaken for anything but some sort of advance. Dean took another step, and he could feel the heat radiating from Castiel's body. Cas looked up at him as if he was testing him or encouraging him.

"Cas…" Dean's voice trailed off and Castiel raised an eyebrow and waited.

"Yes, Dean?" Castiel took another step closer, touching their chests together. His hands landed low on Dean's hips, thumbs fitting through the belt loops. Dean swallowed hard.

"Dance?" Cas asked. Dean nodded, throat and mouth dry. Castiel grinned and moved his hands up to Dean's shoulders and Dean's hands dropped to Castiel's waist, one dipping lower to slip under the hem of Cas' shirt. Cas sucked in a breath and his eyes suddenly flipped to a darker blue.

"What is this, Cas?" Dean bit out as Castiel pressed himself against Dean. He looked up and frowned.

"What do you think it is, Dean?" He shot back playfully. Dean smiled and leaned down to murmur into Cas' ear.

"Well it looks like you're coming on to me," Dean nearly growled. Castiel nodded.

"It appears that you're right, Dean. Is that okay?" Cas pressed his hips forward softly, taking a surprised groan from Dean.

"God yes, it's okay." Castiel nodded and lurched forward, closing the distance between his lips and Dean's. The move caught Dean off guard. A little 'mmph' came from him before he was kissing Cas back, one of his hands snapping to Castiel's neck, keeping him there.

Castiel was a surprisingly good kisser, and Dean felt like he was walking on air. The noise and the room seemed to melt away. This was what he had wanted. This was him and this was _Castiel_ and Cas was there and his lips felt so good against Dean's. Everything was Dean and Cas and _everything_ was perfect.

"Thought you were straight," Dean murmured against his lips. He felt Castiel smile.

"So did I." Cas ran the tip of his tongue over Dean's bottom lip and Dean shivered, fingers snaking into the hair at the nape of Cas' neck.

"Not here, Cas. Not a good idea," Dean managed to say. Castiel nodded and took a slight step backwards, settling his hands on Dean's hips again.

"We'll talk about this later tonight?" Castiel asked. Dean nodded, unable to conjure words.

Outside, the music came to a sudden stop and was replaced by the murmur of students and shouting.

Castiel stepped back from Dean and opened the door, moving out. Dean followed quickly. They pushed their way through the students, which had grouped in a sort of circle. In the middle of the circle, Lucifer was chest to chest with Samuel, a guy in their grade. Samuel was notorious for picking fights for no reason other than to get attention. Jo was standing behind Lucifer, a hand on his arm, urging him backwards.

"Jesus freak," Samuel spat. Lucifer's lip curled into a snarl, but he didn't say anything back.

"I've heard about your family," Samuel continued, grinning. "About how your dad just died and your freak of a brother can't afford to send you to that fancy-ass school. About how your mother is dead. I heard she killed herself," Samuel mocked. Everything was silent for a moment, and Dean heard Castiel's startled inhale. Lucifer snapped. Dean could have sworn he heard a bone in Samuel's torso crack from the force of Lucifer's punch. Jo yelled out and grabbed Lucifer's arm, but Samuel was back up and swinging. His punch hit Lucifer's jaw, sending him backwards into Jo. She grabbed him before they both fell to the floor. Castiel shoved past Dean and walked quickly to his brother, who was blinking with disorientation. Jo looked up at Samuel as he walked forward again and she stood to meet him.

"Leave, Samuel," she commanded, motioning towards the door. Samuel reared back and before Jo could move away, he hit her. The slap resounded through the silent, shocked room. Jo's hand flew to her face and she gasped, stepping backwards.

Dean moved before he thought. He slammed into Samuel, knocking them both the floor. Samuel rolled them over, straddling Dean's waist, and landed a punch on the side of Dean's face. Pain shot through the nerves and Dean's eyes watered and before he could react, Samuel hit him again. Dean vaguely heard Jo screaming for them to stop, and Dean managed to roll them over to their sides. His head was throbbing and there was a ringing in his ear. Samuel managed to hit Dean in the stomach before pulling them both up to their feet.

Dean swung once, hitting Samuel's shoulder. He stumbled a bit and then charged forward. Dean braced himself for another punch.

It never came.

Castiel moved from Lucifer's side and stepped in front of Samuel. His fist hit the side of Samuel's face, and then he grabbed Samuel's arm, flipping him over and onto the floor.

The room was silent save for Dean's panting and Samuel's muffled groans.

"Everybody out!" Jo yelled after a moment. Every person in the room made a break for the door, almost tripping over each other to leave. Samuel pulled himself off the floor and shot a venomous glance at Dean and Castiel before he joined the flow of students. It took less than five minutes for the entire bar to empty out.

Dean pressed a hand to his nose, unsurprised to see a splotch of blood on his finger. Then he looked up at Castiel, who was staring at him. His knuckles were starting to bruise, and he looked like he was going to be sick. Jo was still holding her hand to her cheek. Lucifer was talking to her, one hand pulling her fingers back to check the mark on her face, the other on the side of her neck, comfortingly. It was already bruising. Dean felt sick.

"What happened, Jo?" He asked as he walked over. Lucifer stepped aside to let Dean in to see Jo. She looked up at Dean and shrugged.

"Samuel came up, pushed Lucifer around for a minute. He had no reason to." She glanced over at Lucifer, who pressed a hand gingerly to his jaw.

"There's going to be a mark," he muttered, glancing over at his brother. Castiel was studying the bruises on his knuckles. "Uriel is going to flip." Cas nodded with disinterest, still looking at his hand.

"Cas, is anything broken?" Dean asked, motioning his friend forward. Castiel shook his head and held out his hand to Dean. It was bruised and would probably be a little swollen, but there weren't any broken bones. Dean turned Castiel's hand over and rested it against his palm, checking the knuckles over quickly. Castiel watched him the entire time, eyes boring into Dean's forehead.

"Yeah, you're good," Dean confirmed, dropping Castiel's hand. "Thanks, Cas." Castiel offered a small smile.

"You're nose is still bleeding," he pointed out. Dean raised the back of his hand to his nose. It was, but only a little. It definitely wasn't broken, at least.

"Cassie, how are we going to explain this to Uriel?" Lucifer interjected. The side of his jaw was starting to grow purple and his knuckles were bruising as well. Castiel glanced down at his hand once more and shrugged.

"We were wrestling. Got a little carried away." Lucifer raised an eyebrow.

"You think Uriel is going to believe that?" He asked incredulously.

"We've never lied to him before, Lucifer. He has no reason not to," Castiel answered.

"I'm going to grab you boys some ice for your various injuries," Jo tried to tease. Lucifer flexed his hand and nodded, kissing her on her good cheek. She blushed and scurried towards the freezer they kept in the back.

She came back a moment later with a two bags of frozen peas and a bag of frozen French fries. She tossed the French fries and a bag of peas to Dean before walked with Lucifer over to one of the booths. She sat down next to him and held the bag up to his jaw. He smiled at her.

"I'm going to go wash my face off," Dean murmured, slipping away from Castiel's side and walking towards the bathroom. Castiel looked over at Lucifer and Jo before following Dean.

"Is it broken?" He asked as Dean leaned over the sink. Dean shook his head and splashed water over his face.

"No. Hurts like a son of a bitch, though." Castiel nodded and fidgeted with his shirt as Dean started rubbing the partially dried blood off his face with a paper towel.

"My parents don't know I'm gay," Dean said suddenly, watching Castiel's expression in the mirror.

"I know. Jo does, though." Dean raised an eyebrow.

"How did you know that?" Castiel smirked.

"I could tell." Castiel paused. "My brothers cannot know. If they found out, I would no longer have a home to go to." He spoke about being kicked out of his house as casually as someone would talk about the weather.

"Damn," Dean whistled through his teeth and smiled as Castiel grinned.

"Homosexuality is a sin, Dean Winchester," he joked lightly. Dean shrugged and rinsed his face off one more time.

"How long have you liked me?" Dean asked, turning around and leaning against the sink. He felt a bit like a twelve-year-old girl asking that, but he was curious.

"Since Monday night. My feelings towards you gave me quite a scare, honestly," Castiel muttered, flushing slightly.

"Why?"

"I've been taught my entire life that what I feel towards you is wrong. This entire week has been a continuous identity crisis for me. As you can tell," Castiel stepped forward and pinned Dean to the sink with his hips, "I'm over that part." Dean bit his lip and stifled a groan.

"Didn't expect you to be like this," he managed. Castiel chuckled and pressed harder.

"Like what, Dean?"

"Um," Dean struggled for the right word. "Sexual?" Cas laughed and smiled at Dean.

"I can't say I'm sorry," Castiel said blankly. "I'm compensating for eighteen years of repressed sexual tension." His voice carried a joking tone, but his eyes were serious.

There was a loud knock on the bathroom door and Cas jumped back from Dean.

"You alright, Dean?" Jo called from outside it.

"Uh, yeah. M'good." There was a pause from outside.

"Is Castiel in there with you?" Dean's face flushed and Cas bit back a laugh.

"Yep."

"Um, do you guys need anything?" Her question trailed off suggestively at the end and Dean heard Lucifer snicker.

"Jesus, Jo," Dean muttered, throwing the door open. Jo took a step back and eyed him up.

"Your nose is kind of swollen," she pointed out.

"No shit, Sherlock," Dean snipped back. He looked at Jo's face. There would definitely be a mark across her cheekbone, maybe even a bruise. He could see the outlines of fingers, raised red against Jo's pale skin.

"Are you alright, Jo?" He asked. Jo shrugged.

"I've had worse. I'm going to kill Samuel next time I see him," she vowed solemnly. Dean chuckled and pulled Jo into a hug.

"Just not on school grounds, alright?" Jo laughed against his shoulder.

"We'll help you clean up," Castiel said as he looked around the empty bar. There was glasses and garbage spread across every surface, drinks spilled on the floor and peoples' forgotten items.

"No, you guys don't need to. I honestly just want to go home and get some sleep. I can come back tomorrow and clean it up." Jo shrugged and treaded to the bar to grab the keys.

"You sure?" Dean asked. Jo nodded and motioned towards the door.

"All of you get out," she said lightly. "I can't lock up with you in here."

Dean, Castiel and Lucifer stood in the dirt parking lot as Jo shut all the lights off and locked up behind her.

"I can come by tomorrow and help you finish cleaning," Dean offered.

"You better, Dean Winchester. I'm not doing this alone." Dean chuckled and wrapped his arm around Jo's shoulders. She ducked out his grip scowled.

"I'm giving Lucifer a ride home, so you boys scurry off." She waved Dean and Castiel away.

"Lucifer, text me when you get home and call if Uriel says anything," Castiel instructed. Lucifer rolled his eyes and quickly hugged his brother goodbye.

Mary and John were asleep when Castiel and Dean slipped into the house. He could hear the television running in the living room and the quiet murmur of Sam and Gabriel.

Dean raised a finger to his lips and grabbed Castiel's hand, slipping his fingers between Cas'. Castiel squeezed them lightly and Dean pulled them upstairs.

"This is Sam's room and the bathroom," he whispered, pointing towards two closed doors. "My parents sleep down the hall." He opened another door and pulled Castiel inside.

"This is my room," he said, shutting the door and then flicking the light on.

It was smaller than the room Castiel shared with Lucifer. There was a twin bed under the window on one wall, bookshelves covered in CDs and records shoved against the wall by the closet door. There was a dresser on the other side of the closet that had a stereo system on top of it and a few more CDs. The walls were covered with band posters and pictures of cars. The bedspread was a dark blue with no pattern. The whole room smelled like Dean, cologne and oil.

"It's not much," Dean said, "But it's mine." Castiel shook his head.

"I love it." And he did. The room was distinctly Dean's. There was nothing uniform or common about it. It was special. It had meaning.

"Thanks." Dean wrapped an arm around Cas' waist, pulling their sides together. "How do you want to do sleeping arrangements?" Dean asked awkwardly. "I can take the floor if you want the bed. Or if you want the floor…" Dean trailed off, looking at Cas.

"We can share the bed, Dean," Castiel suggested tentatively. Dean felt the redness creep up his neck.

"If you want to," Castiel added quickly.

"Uh, I definitely want to." Castiel muffled his laughter into Dean's shoulder.

"I'm going to use the restroom before we go to bed," Cas said. Dean nodded and Castiel slipped out of his room. Dean shucked off his shirt and threw it into the corner of his closet and pulled on his flannel pajama pants. When Castiel walked in, Dean was just throwing his covers back. Castiel's couldn't help but let his eyes rake over Dean's exposed chest and shoulders.

"Do you have pajamas?" Dean asked, stepping towards his dresser. Castiel shook his head.

"What do you usually sleep in?" Dean asked as he pulled open a drawer full of flannel pants. Cas snorted a bit, trying to contain more laughter.

"Is all you own flannel?" He asked jokingly. Dean shrugged and threw a pair of pants at Castiel.

"Do you need a shirt?" Dean asked. Castiel shook his head and unfolded the pants.

"These are AC/DC pants, Dean. Your obsession knows no bounds." Dean chuckled and locked his door. The last thing he needed was Sammy or his dad barging in in the morning to see him in bed with a guy.

"You can change here. I'll just look away," Dean said as he flopped onto his bed. Cas rolled his eyes and stripped his shirt and pants off, throwing them in a neat pile at the foot of the bed. He pulled the pants on before Dean had a chance to get a look at anything.

"How do you want to do this?" Dean asked quietly. He didn't want to push any of Castiel's boundaries without knowing. He didn't know if Cas liked to be held or snuggled with, or if he preferred to sleep untouched. Cas shrugged and turned Dean's lights off, sitting on the edge of the bed. After a moment he swung his legs in and rolled to his side, facing Dean. His head was rested on Dean's outstretched arm and their chests were almost touching.

"This is fine," Cas said. Dean smiled and pulled the covers over them, wrapping his free arm around Castiel's waist, pulling them closer. Castiel shifted his head onto Dean's shoulder, his arms tucked between them. Dean looked at Castiel in the faint light that came through his window.

"People can't know," Cas said softly against Dean's neck. Dean nodded.

"I'm okay with that," he answered. Castiel smiled.

"You're going to tell Jo, aren't you?" Dean laughed against Castiel's hair.

"Yeah, probably. But I trust her." Castiel thought about telling Lucifer. Maybe in the future he would. There was no point in it now, though.

"You were my first kiss," Cas mumbled. Dean looked at him skeptically.

"You sure about that?" He asked, only partially teasing. Cas nodded.

"Absolutely. Was it alright?" Dean laughed.

"Perfect, Cas. It was perfect." Cas smiled in appreciation and closed his eyes, wiggling closer to Dean.

"What Samuel said was true," Cas mumbled suddenly. "My mother did end her own life." Dean's eyes flew open and he looked down at Cas.

"When?" Castiel shrugged.

"Six months ago," he answered. Dean's chest ached with sadness for a moment.

"I'm sorry, Cas," he murmured.

"It's not your fault," Castiel said softly. "She shouldn't have been so selfish. I miss her, though," Castiel said after a pause.

"Well yeah," Dean said. "She was your mom." He pulled Castiel against him more, wanting to feel the heat off of Cas' body, to comfort him.

"Thank you, Dean," Castiel sighed happily.

"Yeah, Cas. No problem. Talk more about this tomorrow," he muttered, half asleep.

"Tomorrow," Castiel agreed, closing his eyes.

* * *

Castiel was the first to wake up. It took him a minute to remember where he was, and who had their arms wrapped around him.

"Dean," Cas whispered, trying to wriggle out of Dean's grip. He had no idea what time it was and Uriel had wanted him home at a decent time. "Dean, I can't move." Dean's grip tightened slightly as he opened his eyes and looked at Cas. He blinked twice and then his face split into a grin.

"So it wasn't a dream?" He asked, still smiling. Cas raised his eyebrows in question.

"What do you mean?" He asked, relaxing back against Dean.

"Last night actually happened," Dean reiterated, pulling Castiel against him. Cas smiled and pressed his forehead against Dean's chest.

"Yes. Do you know what time it is?" Dean reached over Castiel to grab his phone off the nightstand.

"It's eight in the morning. Why the hell did you wake me up so early?" Dean grumbled, letting his phone fall on the bed somewhere between them.

"Eight isn't early," Cas responded. "I'll have to leave soon." Dean groaned and squeezed is eyes shut.

"You can't even stay for breakfast?" He asked. Dean felt Castiel shrug.

"It depends when breakfast is." Castiel paused and took a breath. "We need to discuss this." Dean cracked his eyes open again and looked down at Cas.

"What do you want to discuss?" He asked, sitting up slightly.

"I said last night that people couldn't know. I was very serious," Cas said, almost gravely. "You understand the dynamics of my family and how detrimental it would be for me if they were to know." Dean nodded, a pit settling at the bottom of his stomach.

"If this is going to happen, we have to be… careful," Castiel finally found the world he was looking for.

"If?" Dean asked quietly. Cas looked up at him.

"If you still want to," he answered. Dean rolled his eyes.

"Yes, I still want to." Cas smiled.

"Good. This is my first relationship," he said quietly. Dean shrugged.

"It doesn't matter, Cas. Should we head downstairs?"

"This first," Cas answered, scooting up to kiss Dean. He smiled as he pulled away. "Good morning, Dean." Dean couldn't help the grin that split across his face.

Mary was in the kitchen when they both walked in, careful to keep an appropriate distance between them. Dean was almost nervous. He was bringing his boyfriend into his kitchen, except his mom didn't know that.

"Morning boys," she said cheerfully. "So this is the famous Castiel, then?" Dean blushed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Really, mom?" He asked, trying to fight the color in his cheeks.

"You talk about him all the time, Dean," Mary reminded. "What do you boys want for breakfast?" Dean groaned and collapsed into a kitchen chair, face bright red. Cas chuckled.

Dean brought Castiel home after breakfast. It was earlier than he was used to being out and about on a Saturday, but Cas just rolled his eyes and Dean's complaining and held his hand while he drove.

A block away from Cas', he pulled his fingers from Dean's and smiled apologetically. Dean shrugged.

"It is what it is," he said. Castiel nodded.

"I suppose." They pulled into his driveway.

"See you Monday?" Dean asked. Castiel smiled and nodded.

"Yes, of course. Thank you, Dean." Castiel looked over his shoulder. The side of the garage and some bushes obscured the view from the windows. He quickly leaned forward and kissed Dean before climbing out of the car and jogging up to the house. Dean waited until he was inside before he pulled out of the driveway and fished out his cellphone and called Jo.

"Need some help cleaning up?" He asked as soon as she answered.

"You bet your ass I do. My mom is going to be home in a few hours and she will skin me if the bar still looks like this." Dean laughed and imagined Jo rushing around the roadhouse, trying desperately to get it cleaned before Ellen came home.

"I'll be over in a sec. Should I bring anything?" Dean asked, turning towards the Roadhouse.

"No, just get over here." Dean laughed and hung up the phone, tossing it onto his passenger seat.

When he stepped into the Roadhouse, a garbage bag, a mop and a bucket of cleaner immediately greeted him.

"Howdy, Dean," Jo said brightly. "Get down and scrub." Dean scowled and set down the bucket and mop, looking around the bar. He set out to pick up empty cans of soda and garbage, working his way around the bar.

"So tell me Dean," Jo started. "What happened with Castiel last night?" Dean blushed almost instantly. Jo grinned.

"Was I right?" She pressed, her smile stretching farther across her face.

"Shut up and clean," Dean retorted, turning away from her and throwing away more trash. Jo sighed dramatically.

"I already know, Dean. You didn't make much of an attempt to hide it," she teased. Dean dropped his head into his hand and groaned.

"You were right," he conceded. Jo jumped up and clapped her hands.

"I knew it! Tell me everything, Dean Winchester!" She exclaimed. Dean sighed.

"Uh, I went to go hang my jacket up in the back room and he kissed me," Dean said, abridging the story slightly. Jo squealed again and ran over to hug Dean.

"So you guys are a thing now?" She asked excitedly. Dean flushed and nodded.

"Yeah, but keep your trap shut. His family can't find out." Jo stepped back and nodded.

"I wouldn't tell anyone, Dean. You know that." Dean rubbed his hand across the back of his neck and nodded.

"I know, Jo. You're awesome." She smiled.

"So I've been told. Now get back to cleaning." Dean tossed a towel at her and continued on.

* * *

Uriel wasn't home when Castiel walked in. Gabriel and Sam had still been asleep when Dean and Castiel had left. He would probably make his way in later in the day. Uriel was less strict with Gabriel.

Castiel slipped into his and Lucifer's room. The light was still off and the shades were drawn, and the sound of Lucifer snoring was prominent.

"Wake up, Lucifer," Castiel said, smacking Lucifer's leg as he walked by. Lucifer jolted upwards and looked around with disorientation.

"What time is it?" He groaned, looking for his alarm clock.

"Nine. Wake up." Lucifer groaned and collapsed back onto his pillow.

"No," he complained. "My jaw hurts." Castiel flipped the light on and rolled his eyes as Lucifer pulled the blankets over his head and nearly hissed.

"Let me see," Castiel commanded, yanking the covers past Lucifer's face. He squeezed his eyes shut and batted Castiel away.

The bruise on Lucifer's face wasn't as bad as Castiel had thought it would be. There was only one spot that looked like a new bruise; the rest of the area was a light pink and yellow.

"Did Uriel ask questions?" Castiel asked, allowing Lucifer to fling the blanket back over his eyes.

"No. He bought the wrestling story." Castiel nodded and sat on the edge of Lucifer's bed.

"I figured he would. He had no reason to doubt us," Cas responded. Lucifer offered a muffled noise of affirmation and Castiel sighed.

"Are you dating Jo, then?" Castiel asked. Lucifer pulled the blanket down to look at Castiel.

"That depends," he answered. "Is it you or Dean asking?" Castiel chuckled.

"It's me. I don't think Dean cares, so long as you treat her right." Lucifer smiled.

"Yeah, we are. Don't tell Uriel, though. She's not exactly his idea of the 'proper lady'." Lucifer's tone turned into a leering imitation of Uriel at the end of his sentence. Castiel laughed.

"She's very nice. I'm happy for you," Castiel said, smiling at his brother. Lucifer sat up and looked to see if the door was closed.

"Did you see Michael?" He asked. Castiel shook his head.

"Do you want me to check if he's in?" Castiel asked. Lucifer shrugged and Castiel stood up, opening the door and peering around the corner. Michael's door was open and the light was off, but he wasn't there.

"He must be out," Cas answered as he shut the door behind him. Lucifer nodded and crossed his arms over his chest.

"How was your night?" Lucifer asked, his tone turning serious. Castiel shrugged and sat on his own bed, throwing Lucifer his shirt from off the floor.

"It was nice," Castiel answered. Lucifer pulled his shirt on and then looked at his brother earnestly.

"Did you have fun with Dean?" He asked. Castiel's heart raced in his chest and he took an involuntary breath in.

"Yes," he managed stiffly. Lucifer raised an eyebrow.

"Something you want to spit out?" He asked, watching Castiel's expression.

"Why?" Castiel asked defensively. Lucifer sighed and rolled out of bed, starting to make it as he talked.

"You do know that I don't believe any of the shit Uriel preaches at us, right?" He asked, looking at Cas before he finished straightening the sheets.

"Yes," Castiel answered. Lucifer smirked.

"And I hold no judgments towards any type of person," he continued, sitting back down on his made bed. "_Any_ person, Castiel," he reiterated. Cas nodded. He felt like his throat was closing up.

"I know," he finally answered. Lucifer folded his hands and rested his chin on them.

"So anything you want to tell me?" He asked again. Castiel sighed and shook his head.

"It sounds like you already know," he answered sarcastically. Lucifer shrugged.

"I don't want to make assumptions, brother," he replied. Castiel looked down at the floor.

"Well what do you think you know?" Cas finally asked.

"I think I know that you like Dean Winchester in a 'more than friends' way. I think you two are dating. I think it's fine," he finished, standing up and shuffling towards the bathroom. Castiel didn't say anything when Lucifer shut the door and turned the shower on.

He leaned back on his bed and looked up at the ceiling. Lucifer knew, and Lucifer was fine with it. A weight lifted off Castiel's chest. He hadn't felt guilty for lying to his whole family, but for whatever reason, the idea of lying to Lucifer had been upsetting. It was probably because he and Lucifer were closer than most of his other siblings. He felt no shame in lying to Michael, but Lucifer was different. Lucifer understood and could think for himself.

After a few minutes of thought, Castiel pulled out his phone and sent Dean a test.

"_Lucifer knows. Did you tell Jo?_" He sent it and let his phone rest on his chest, staring at his ceiling until it buzzed against his sternum.

"_How'd Lucifer take it? Yeah, I told Jo. She's freaking ecstatic._" Castiel smiled as he read Dean's message.

"_Lucifer apparently could tell and he's fine. He and Jo are dating_," Castiel typed.

"_Yeah I know. He may be your brother but I will harm him._" Castiel read the messaged and laughed.

"_He won't, but I'll volunteer to assist if he does_."

Castiel looked up as Lucifer stepped out of the bathroom, rubbing his hair off with a towel.

"So was I right?" He asked, tossing the towel onto the floor. Castiel scowled at the towel.

"Yes." Lucifer smiled sincerely at Cas.

"I'm with you, brother. Nothing you do can make me love you any less." Castiel smiled.

"Thank you, Lucifer." Castiel paused. "Michael and the others cannot know." Lucifer rolled his eyes.

"Obviously. They'd probably kick you out." Castiel nodded looked down at his phone.

"_Good to know. I miss you. That okay to say?_" Cas smiled and Lucifer rolled his eyes.

"Lover boy?" He asked. Castiel glared at him.

"_That's fine. Why even ask? I miss you, too_." Castiel glanced up at Lucifer. He was texting, too.

"Jo?" Castiel asked teasingly. Lucifer nodded without looking up. Castiel's phone vibrated.

"_I don't know. Didn't want to make you uncomfortable_," Dean's message read.

"Do we have study tonight?" Lucifer asked, looking up at Castiel.

"I would assume so," Castiel answered. Lucifer groaned dramatically.

"I don't want to," he whined. Castiel rolled his eyes at his older brother's antics and answered Dean.

"_It's very difficult to make me feel uncomfortable. Try not to worry, Dean._" Castiel sent the message and then looked at Lucifer.

"We both have secret relationships," he said casually. Lucifer nodded.

"Yup, sounds about right," he answered.

"Why is it that we are so close, yet neither of us are close to Michael?" Castiel asked suddenly. He had always wondered what made the eldest of their trio distanced himself from them.

"Brainwashed by religion, I guess. He disagrees with almost all of our choices. Thinks he's better than us." Lucifer paused. "Sometimes I forget that we're a set of triplets, not twins." Castiel nodded in agreement and checked his phone.

"_I'll keep that in mind. I'm going back to bed, though. Helped Jo clean the bar and now I'm drop dead tired because someone doesn't know how to sleep in with his boyfriend on a Saturday_." Cas flushed and laughed, drawing a strange look from Lucifer.

"_I can't help it that my boyfriend likes to waste half the day away in bed. I'll see you Monday, then?_" Castiel sent the message and sat up, reaching for his backpack. He was sure he had some sort of homework to do to occupy his afternoon.

"_Yeah, of course. See you Monday._"

"You're not seriously going to do homework on a Saturday, are you?" Lucifer asked. Castiel nodded.

"There's nothing else to do, is there?" Lucifer didn't respond, wrapped up in a text message.

"_Sleep well._" Castiel watched his phone, waiting to see if Dean would answer.

"_Oh I will. Talk to you later, babe_." Castiel couldn't fight the blush that spread across his cheeks or the stupid grin that split his face. Lucifer watched him from his bed with an amused expression.

"God help you. You're in love," Lucifer teased. Castiel didn't even bother glaring.


	3. But It Was Love At Second Sight

Chapter 3: I Knew Nothing Of Romance But It Was Love At Second Sight

For Dean, the next few weeks flew by in a blur. His days were comprised of school and Castiel; his evenings were filled with homework, family and Castiel. He spent the weekends at the Roadhouse listening to Jo talk incessantly about Lucifer, and every other Friday night Castiel would come for dinner and to stay the night, when they would lock themselves in Dean's room. Fall break was approaching at a rapid pace, and every day was a good one for Dean.

Castiel was quickly adjusting to the new changes in his life; public school, a boyfriend, lying to his brothers. It didn't bother him as much as it had in the past. Lucifer had noticed the changes in Castiel, too. More than once he had to remind his brother not to hum Dean's music while he was in the house, and twice Lucifer had to hide the sweatshirt Castiel had borrowed from Dean.

Uriel, thankfully, seemed blissfully unaware of the change in two of his brothers. As usual, he was too concerned with the doings of the church and making sure Gabriel was well behaved. He trusted the triplets to make their own good decisions, for the most part. Michael had noticed the change in his two younger brothers and as a result had pulled away from them further. He locked himself in his room for long periods of time and hardly spoke two words a day to either of them. It didn't bother Lucifer or Castiel in the slightest. They both had more significant people in their life than Michael.

Castiel was looking forward to this week. It was a two-day week, with school only on Monday and Tuesday, for fall break. Dean had invited him over Tuesday night for something he referred to as "forced family fun time", which was when Mary and John apparently forced Sam and Dean to play board games and watch movies. It sounded like fun to Castiel, but all Dean had to say about it was a groan and a roll of his eyes.

Castiel woke with a shiver on Sunday morning before church. Fall seemed to appear over night, and the house was freezing.

"Lucifer," Castiel said quietly. "Wake up." Lucifer groaned and peered out from underneath the covers.

"What time is it?" he asked. Castiel sighed. Lucifer asked the same thing every Sunday and every Sunday it was the same answer.

"Five thirty. We have to get up." Lucifer shook his head and pressed his face into the pillow.

"You shower first," he mumbled. "Wake me up when you're done." Castiel rolled his eyes and rolled out of bed, pulling his robe on. It was _cold_.

"Fine," Castiel sighed. "We can't be late. Uriel almost lost it last week." Lucifer answered with a light snore. Castiel gave a small chuckle before he padded into the bathroom and started the shower. Last week, he and Lucifer had slipped in five minutes after the start of the sermon, and Uriel had spent a good portion of his lesson glaring at them from behind the pulpit. Castiel had overslept after a late night at Dean's and hadn't woken up to his alarm clock.

The shower helped warm Cas up, and when he stepped out the heating in the house had been turned on.

"Up," Cas said, throwing a towel at Lucifer. He swore quietly before sitting up and pulling the towel around him, walking into the bathroom grumbling. Castiel hardly paid attention to his brother.

When Lucifer and Castiel stumbled downstairs for breakfast, Uriel was already gone, setting up before the early morning service. Michael was standing at the counter in the kitchen, looking over his lesson notes for the sermon, eating a pear. He glanced up when Lucifer and Castiel walked in.

"Good morning, Michael," Castiel said politely. "Did you sleep well?" Michael looked at him for a long moment before nodding, looking back to his notes. Lucifer rolled his eyes and made a face at him. Castiel resisted the urge to laugh and elbowed Lucifer lightly, reaching for one an apple from the bowl of fruit on the counter. He took a bite.

"It is good to see that you two have decided to wake up on time this morning," Michael said coolly. "If you were to pull another stunt like you did last week, Uriel would have you repenting until your knees were so sore you couldn't stand." Lucifer looked up at him sharply, unaccustomed to Michael's cold, threatening tone.

"We made our excuses," Castiel answered Michael. "We are here today. Rest assured, brother, that it will not happen again." Michael raised his brows at Castiel and straightened up, shutting his binder.

"That is not all you would be repenting for," Michael said lowly. "You're straying, Castiel. You and Lucifer both are." Michael glanced at his blond brother. "I know of your girlfriend, Lucifer, and she does not follow us." Lucifer's lips twitched into a snarl.

"That's not your call to make, Michael," Lucifer growled. "Stay out of my life." Michael glanced at Lucifer with disdain before looking at Castiel. Cas' hands were trembling. If he knew about Jo, was it possible he knew about Dean?

"And you, Castiel," Michael said slowly. "You're associating with a family of sinners, and you're falling into step with them." Castiel nearly breathed a sigh of relief before the anger registered.

"A family's sins has nothing to do with their morals," Castiel snapped. "The Winchesters are a good family. I am capable of making my own choices." Castiel took a slow, shaking breath. "You may be our blood, Michael, but you are not our brother." Michael froze and went pale, eyes cemented to Castiel.

"Very well," he said quietly. "If that's how you want us to be, then so be it." He snatched his binder up and left through the garage door. A moment later, Lucifer and Castiel heard Michael pull out of the driveway.

"Christ, Castiel," Lucifer said slowly. "That's the angriest I've ever seen Michael." Castiel didn't say anything, only stared at the door Michael had walked out of. That was the most confrontational Castiel had ever been, and a bit of adrenaline was pumping through him.

"I'm going to make sure Gabe is awake," Lucifer said, walking quickly from the room.

Castiel sank into one of the kitchen chairs and put his head in his hands, knotting his fingers in his hair. He took a shaking breath and closed his eyes. He felt as if he had just unofficially declared war against his brother.

Lucifer, Castiel and Gabriel arrived at the church with plenty of time to spare. Gabriel split from the immediately, drawing himself into the group of church friends he sat with during the sermons. Lucifer and Castiel stuck together, avoiding Michael's glares and Uriel's stern glances. They knew Michael must have said something about their confrontation that morning, and Castiel hoped Uriel would let it slide.

Lucifer and Castiel slipped into a pew towards the back of the church, wanting to avoid too much eye contact with Uriel.

"Michael's told him what I said," Castiel quietly. "We've never fought before. I'm unsure what to expect of Uriel's punishment." Lucifer shrugged.

"He'll probably make you apologize. Give you a few prayers to say. I don't know, Castiel. You were right, though." Castiel looked over to Lucifer in question.

"He's not acting like a brother," Lucifer said quietly. "I told you before that I feel like we're a set of twins, not triplets. Michael doesn't belong with us." Castiel nodded and looked forward as Uriel took his position at the front of the church. He cleared his throat and looked out over his congregation.

"Good morning, brothers and sisters," he started. "Thank you for your attendance." He glanced towards Castiel and Lucifer. Lucifer had his nose buried in a bible, pretending to read it. Castiel met his gaze without blinking. Uriel looked away and cleared his throat before starting up again.

"Before we begin, I have a few announcements." Castiel worked at tuning out Uriel, looking down at his hymnbook. It worked. He managed to ignore most of Uriel's sermon, only paying attention when he was required to stand, kneel or sing.

The sermon ended and Lucifer and Castiel stood, walking quickly into the entryway of the church.

"Do you think we could skip group?" Lucifer asked in a low voice. Castiel shook his head.

"Uriel is already angry with us for this morning. We can't skip group. Especially since Michael is leading it." Lucifer groaned and rubbed his hand over his face.

"This is ridiculous," he muttered. "All of this is bullshit." Castiel shushed him, glancing around to make sure no one had heard him.

"It's only a half hour," Castiel chastised. "You'll be fine." Lucifer shook his head and stepped away, leading them to the classroom that Michael held group in.

Michael was already there, sitting at the head of a long, rectangular table. The seats were filling up with other youths in their church. Castiel and Lucifer took seats at the end of the table, as far away from Michael as they could get.

A few minutes later, Michael cleared his throat and stood, his plan held in front of him in the binder.

"Good morning," he greeted. The younger children echoed his greeting and the older children nodded.

"I had originally planned to have a lesson about a few of my favorite stories," Michael started, "but late last night I made a decision to speak of something else. I'm sorry for those of you who prepared for the original lecture. We will do that next week." Castiel looked up in confusion. Michael never deviated from his plans. He glanced at Lucifer, who looked just as confused as Castiel himself.

"Many of you know that I have started public schooling this year," Michael said evenly. "I've noticed many disturbing trends in that school. Many of the students have no respect for what we're taught and have no respect for what God wants of them." Castiel felt Lucifer stiffen in his seat, watched his jaw clench. Castiel gripped the edge of his chair and stared at Michael.

"Today we will be talking about the company you choose to keep," Michael said, looking at Castiel and Lucifer, "and how it affects your choices and how you hold yourself in the eyes of God." Lucifer exhaled slowly, closing his eyes and flexing his fingers. Castiel continued staring at Michael, unblinking and unmoving. This was directed exclusively towards them. Michael was going to use them to make an example.

"It has been told to us to surround ourselves with people who will better you, both in person and in faith," Michael said, still looking at his brothers. Lucifer glared at him and Castiel held his gaze as evenly as he could. No one else seemed to notice Michael speaking directly to both of them.

"This school that I attend is filled with people straying from the flock, straying from the teachings of God," Michael spoke. "I have chosen to separate myself from them as much as I can. It bothers me to see their Godless ways. Others, however, seem to be less concerned with being led astray." Castiel locked his jaw and Lucifer looked like he wanted to punch Michael.

"Tell me," Michael said, abruptly looking away from his brothers. "Many of you also attend public schools. What sort of behavior have you seen that is unacceptable?" For a moment, no one spoke as they thought of examples.

"Swearing," one of the younger children chimed. "People curse at my school all the time." Michael nodded and scribbled something down in his binder.

"Using the Lord's name in vain, " another person said quietly. Michael frowned and nodded, writing again.

"I'm sure you can think of more," Michael prompted, looking out on them.

"Inappropriate dress," one of the girls in the room supplied. "Too much skin." Michael nodded in agreement.

A few more people spoke about theft, cheating and being rude to others. Michael nodded, looking entirely uninterested.

"Oh, I have one," someone quietly said. Michael nodded for them to continue. The girl took a deep breath. "In my school, we have a homosexual couple." The room quieted almost instantly and Michael leaned forward on the table. Castiel forced himself to look and act normal. His eyes stayed glued to Michael, even as Lucifer gripped his hand under the table.

"Do you?" he asked with interest. She nodded and frowned. "It's disgusting. They hold hands in the hallway and no one seems to care." Michael nodded slowly, agreeing with her.

"Yes," he said. "It is disgusting." He paused and stood straight, looking around. "Can anyone tell me what the Bible says about homosexuality?" Nearly everyone in the room opened their mouth to blurt out different versus.

"One person," Michael said loudly, waving his hands to quiet everyone. He looked around the room to pick someone.

"Castiel," Michael said. "Would you care to tell me?" He felt Lucifer's grip tighten. Castiel cleared his throat and looked calmly at Michael.

"Leviticus eighteen, verse twenty-two," Castiel spoke clearly. "'Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is an abomination.'" He kept his eyes locked with Michael's until Michael looked away.

"Correct," he said. The word fell in the silent room like a gavel.

Castiel and Lucifer left the room as soon as Michael closed his book at the end of lesson. Lucifer was radiating anger and Castiel could hardly speak. Neither of them looked at each other until they got to their car.

"Castiel," Lucifer said slowly. "He doesn't know. There's no way he could know." Castiel looked up at Lucifer in panic.

"Oh God," Castiel said quietly, folding over in the seat, resting his head between his knees. "Oh _God_, Lucifer. He has to know."

"No, Cassie," Lucifer said, resting a hand on his brother's back. "He doesn't. There is _no way_ that he could know." Castiel shook his head and groaned as his stomach rolled with anxiety.

"Why else would he have asked me, Lucifer?" Castiel yelled, squeezing his eyes shut. "Oh god, what are they going to do to me? What will _Uriel_ do to me?" Castiel heaved into a strangled sob. Lucifer glanced around the parking lot and started the car, peeling out onto the main road.

"They're not going to do anything, Cas. They don't know." Castiel shook his head again and gave another cry.

"They'll make me leave," he gasped. "They'll disown me." Lucifer shook his head and pulled into the parking lot of an abandoned restaurant.

"They don't know, Castiel. There's no way they could," he repeated, putting the car in park and shutting it off. "Michael is pulling shit from nowhere." Castiel sat back in the seat and wiped his eyes, trying to calm himself down.

"Jesus Christ," he whimpered. "He's going to say something to Uriel. Oh god, Lucifer." Castiel's stomach rolled again and he opened the car door, leaning out and throwing up his breakfast. Lucifer yelped in shock and reached for a napkin in the center armrest, handing it to Castiel. Castiel wiped his mouth with shaking hands, dropped the napkin on the ground and spit before pulling himself back into the car.

"I need to break up with Dean," Castiel said quietly. "They know." Lucifer paled and grabbed Cas' arm.

"Don't, brother," he said frantically. "Don't do something stupid like that. They don't know, Cas. I can promise you they don't know." He knew Castiel would regret leaving Dean. He could see it in Cas' eyes how much he cared about the Winchester.

"They will force me out," Castiel snapped with agitation. "I can't risk exposing Dean and myself." His voice crumpled at the end.

"They don't know!" Lucifer repeated with irritation. "Jo and I have told no one and there's no way he can know just by looking at you!" Castiel shook his head.

"He knows," Castiel whimpered. "I have to… I have to tell Dean…" he fumbled with his cellphone.

"Cas, stop!" Lucifer reached forward and grabbed the cellphone from his brother. "We're going home. We're going to see if Uriel or Michael says anything. Then you make decisions. You don't just panic and break up with your boyfriend!" Castiel snatched his phone back from Lucifer and flipped through it, deleting messages and phone calls from Dean. He locked the phone and stuffed it in his pocket before looking up at his brother.

"You're right, Lucifer," he murmured. "They'll start to wonder where we are if we don't get back." Lucifer nodded and turned the keys in the ignition, pulling slowly out of the lot. They drove home in silence.

When Lucifer pulled into the garage, they both sat in silence for a moment before Lucifer cut the engine and climbed out of the car. He opened Castiel's door and pulled him into a hug.

"I am always here for you, Castiel," he murmured, releasing Cas and heading into the house. Castiel took a shaking breath and composed himself before walking in.

"Castiel," Uriel said as soon as he entered. "A word." Castiel looked at Lucifer, who was slowly ascending the staircase. Lucifer nodded to him and disappeared upstairs.

"Yes, brother?" Castiel asked. Uriel frowned.

"My office, if you would." He motioned for Castiel to follow him. Once inside, Uriel shut the door and sat at his desk.

"Sit, Castiel." He gestured to one of the chairs on the opposite side of his desk. Castiel sat and looked expectantly up at Uriel, prepared to hear that he needed to leave and to be told of his eternal damnation.

"You had a disagreement with Michael this morning?" Uriel asked, leaning forward on the desk. Castiel nodded.

"I did." Uriel raised an eyebrow and leaned back, straightening up in his chair.

"Would you like to enlighten me on that argument?" Uriel prompted.

"Michael was rude to Lucifer and I about the people we've chosen to keep in our acquaintance," Castiel explained. "I may have had a harsh word with him." Uriel nodded.

"Yes, Michael said you were quite harsh. Have you apologized?" Castiel shook his head.

"Apologize to Michael. I'm sure he'll be prepared to do the same with you." Castiel nodded and moved to stand.

"I'm not finished, Castiel," Uriel said calmly. "Sit back down." Castiel sat instantly and waited for Uriel to confront him about Dean.

"I am unsure why Michael has been so difficult lately," Uriel said carefully. "He is not adjusting to this new school as well as I had hoped. That does not, however, make his fears for your soul unwarranted. He is right, Castiel. You are straying and it is the fault of Dean Winchester." Castiel gripped his legs tightly, trying to keep a straight face.

"I do not feel any farther from God, brother," he said as naturally as he could.

"You may not feel it, Castiel, but I can see it. Dean Winchester has corruptive intentions towards you. I cannot stop you from being around him, but know that I will not make your life any easier while you continue your association." Uriel paused and then looked very seriously at Castiel. "Did you find the youth lesson today particularly enlightening?" Castiel went cold and nodded stiffly.

"May I go to my room and work on school work?" he asked quietly. Uriel nodded and looked at the paperwork on his desk.

As soon as Castiel was clear of Uriel's office, he nearly sprinted to his room. He paused outside the door and looked at Michael's closed one. After a moment of consideration, he stepped over and knocked gently.

"Come in," came Michael's muffled voice. Castiel opened the door and stepped into Michael's room. Michael looked up with a blank expression.

"What do you need, Castiel?" he asked tiredly. He was on his laptop with his psychology textbook spread out in front of him.

"I came to apologize for our disagreement this morning," Castiel said coldly. Michael gave him a small smirk.

"Consider your apology accepted as always. Leave." Castiel stammered for a moment before he pulled together his thoughts.

"What was the purpose of the youth lesson, brother?" he asked carefully. Michael raised an eyebrow at him.

"To point out the error in your ways," he answered coldly. Castiel frowned.

"I'm unsure what you mean, Michael," Castiel said slowly. Michael shook his head and motioned to the door.

"Leave." Castiel left quickly, walking over to his room and throwing the door open.

Lucifer was pacing outside the door when Castiel walked in.

"What happened?" he demanded. Castiel shoved past him and flopped onto his bed, facedown in the pillow. He felt Lucifer sit on the edge of his bed and ignored him.

"Castiel, what did Uriel say?" Lucifer asked again, shaking his shoulder.

"The same thing Michael did," Castiel said into the pillow. "Dean is leading me astray, they're both worried for my soul and bullshit like that." Lucifer heaved a breath.

"I know what you think you have to do," Lucifer said quietly, "but please think it through, Castiel. You and Dean are good, Cas. He's good for you and you're good for him." Castiel's chest ached and his shoulders shook as he started crying. He pulled himself up and looked at Lucifer, wiping his eyes.

"I know," he agreed, "but I can't let Uriel and Michael find out about us. It's not going to work, Lucifer. I can't make this work." His lower lip trembled before he started crying in earnest, hugging a pillow to his chest to muffle the sound. Lucifer wrapped his arms around Castiel.

"This isn't fair," he murmured, trying to comfort Castiel. "I'm sorry, Cassie." Castiel sniffled and then jumped as his phone vibrated in his pocket.

"_Hey baby. How was church?_" Castiel looked at the message and burst into another round of tears, dropping the phone to the bed.

Dean texted twice more that day, and once again Monday morning. Castiel didn't reply.

* * *

"It's not like him not to answer," Dean muttered, pacing in front of Jo's locker the next morning. "I don't like it." Jo looked up from her backpack and sighed.

"I'm sure he's busy," she reassured. "Uriel probably had them scrubbing the floors of the church with a sacred toothbrush or something ridiculous like that." She laughed at herself and then frowned when Dean remained silent. He looked up and down the hallway, waiting for Castiel or Lucifer to appear. Jo followed his gaze and shrugged.

"They must be running late." Dean shook his head.

"No, Cas is anal about time and stuff like that." He looked up at the clock. "I'm gonna head to class. I'll see you at lunch." Jo nodded and clapped Dean on the shoulder.

"Good morning, Mister Handsome," Pamela said without looking up. Dean nodded at her and took his usual spot in the back of the classroom, taking out his notebook and looking anxiously at the door. As the students filed in and Cas wasn't included in them, Dean pulled out his phone to check for texts. Nothing. He considered sending Castiel another message, but he didn't want to seem overbearing.

Finally Castiel walked in. Dean pushed his stuff over and waited for Castiel to come sit next to him. Cas looked up at him for a moment before sliding into a seat at the front of the room, dropping his head onto his arms on the desk. Dean's heart stopped and his entire body lurched in anxiety. Why wasn't Cas sitting with him? Dean took out his phone again.

"_Cas?_" he sent the message and then looked up and watched as Castiel pulled out his cellphone and read the message. Dean watched his hands tremble over the keyboard before he put the phone away, leaving Dean's message unanswered.

When Pamela stood to call role, she noticed the change of seats with a frown but said nothing.

At the end of biology, Castiel shot up and sped out of the classroom, Dean following.

"Cas!" he called, reaching out and grabbing his shoulder. "Cas, talk to me." Castiel yanked his shoulder back and spun around to look at Dean, conscious of the fact they were in a crowded hallway and a few people were looking at him.

"Cas," Dean repeated. "Come on, man. Talk to me." He looked at Castiel seriously, trying not to let his eyes betray his hurt. Castiel took a breath and shook his head.

"Now isn't the time to have this conversation," he muttered, moving to walk away. Dean reached for him again.

"So what, then? You're just gonna blow me off? That's the right thing to do, huh?" he demanded, face flushing. The hallway had cleared out a bit more now. Castiel shook his head.

"Do you want to have this conversation right now, Dean? In the middle of a hallway at school? Or do you want to just drop it." Castiel's eyes flashed as he spoke.

Dean took a step back, shocked by Castiel's tone. He glanced around before he grabbed Castiel's arm and dragged him into the empty bathrooms. He locked the door behind them.

"What the hell is going on?" Dean demanded. "You ignored me yesterday, you ignored me during bio. If you want to break up just fucking say so! Don't ignore my existence, Cas!" Castiel crossed his arms and said nothing. Dean sighed in frustration and pressed his forehead against the tiled wall of the bathroom.

"Did I do something?" Dean finally asked in defeat, looking up at Castiel. Castiel's expression faltered for a moment, but he kept his mouth clamped shut. Dean slammed his fist into the wall in frustration.

"Dammit, Castiel! You can't just shut me out!" Dean took a breath to calm down. "We're dating. In a relationship. _Together_, Cas. So please tell me what's going on." Dean's voice broke and he snapped his mouth shut, fighting back tears.

Castiel looked at him with as blank of an expression as he could manage before he stepped past Dean and walked out of the bathroom.

Dean leaned against the bathroom wall and swallowed hard, biting back the urge to break down and cry. He wouldn't lose it in the school bathrooms.

He checked his phone for the time. Second period had started. He could slip out a side door and go home where he didn't have to keep himself held together. Sam could ride the bus home, and Dean could have a few hours to cool off and figure things out.

"_Hey, do me a favor and make sure Sammy gets on the bus after school. If you're not busy you could come over, too. Need a friend._" He sent the text to Jo and took a deep breath before slipping out of the bathroom and walking quickly to his locker to grab his things. He was lucky that a teacher didn't catch him as he walked out to his car.

Dean dropped his backpack on the floor of the entryway and was about to trudge upstairs when Mary rounded the corner.

"What are you doing home?" she asked. Dean jumped a little and turned around, mentally slapping himself. He had forgotten that only high school had classes the short week.

"Oh. Hey mom," he said lamely. "I wasn't feeling too hot so I came home." Mary raised an eyebrow and stepped forward to feel Dean's forehead.

"You're not warm," she pointed out. "Did you skip?" Dean shrugged.

"Yeah," he answered, waiting for her to be angry. Mary frowned.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, more concerned than upset. Dean shrugged again and shook his head.

"No, but I'll figure it out." Mary reached forward and pulled Dean into a hug.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked as she stepped back, brushing his hair from his face. Dean shook his head.

"No. Just some stuff. Needed some time to cool off," he replied. Mary nodded.

"Alright. Well I love you," she reminded, patting his arm.

"I think Jo might come over after school," Dean said. Mary gave a smile and a nod.

"That's fine. I'll send her up when she gets here." Dean nodded and took the steps two at a time, vision blurring over with tears.

He flopped down on his bed and pulled the covers over himself, curling up. If Castiel wanted to break up, that was fine enough. What wasn't fine was ignoring Dean without any explanation. That was possibly the worst thing Cas could've done to him.

Dean heaved a muffled sob before he pulled himself off his bed and put on one of his favorite CDs. He grabbed one of the few books he had in his possession and collapsed back onto his bed, reading until Jo texted him after school.

"_Got Sam. On my way._" Dean sighed in relief and shut the book, slinking downstairs. John had come home from work and was sitting on the couch watching something on the television.

"How you feeling soldier?" he asked, looking over his shoulder. Dean shrugged and leaned against the wall, looking out the front windows. He watched in silence until a car pulled up in his driveway. It was Lucifer's car. He watched with a small frown as Jo and Sam climbed out, both of them waving to Lucifer as he peeled out of the driveway. He caught a glimpse of Castiel in the front seat and looked away sharply.

"Hey Dean," Sam said as he walked in. He disappeared up the stairs and shut his door after him. Dean looked at Jo as she walked in. She looked worried.

"Hey Winchester," she said, hugging him tightly. "What's up?" Dean shook his head and gestured to the living room. Jo raised an eyebrow and followed Dean upstairs, plopping down on his bed and leaning against the wall. Dean closed the door and sat down next to her.

"I think Cas dumped me," he murmured quietly, tucking his knees under his chin.

"What?" Jo asked, shocked. "What do you mean?" Dean shook his head and wiped his eyes, mildly ashamed to already be crying again.

"He didn't sit with me during bio, so I caught up with him in the hallway and dragged him into the bathroom. He didn't even tell me why, Jo. He just stared at me and left." Dean leaned back against the wall and looked up at the ceiling, a few tears slipping from his eyes before he shut them.

"What a dick," Jo muttered, pulling Dean against her. He put his head on Jo's shoulder and let her hug him. "I'll ask Lucifer what's going on. He'd know." Dean shrugged, not really caring at this point.

"I don't even know what I did," Dean muttered. "We were fine on Saturday. Freakin' perfect, actually. He was supposed to come over tomorrow." Dean wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt and sat up again, crossing his legs. "He could've at least given me a damn reason." Jo nodded and fished out her cellphone.

"Do you want me to call Lucifer?" she asked, waving her phone. Dean shrugged again and stood up to put a different CD on.

Jo dialed Lucifer's number and waited patiently for him to pick up. Dean slunk back over to his bed and sat down slowly, watching Jo.

"Hey beautiful," Lucifer answered. "Miss me?" Jo blushed and rolled her eyes.

"Always, Luc," she teased. "What's up with your brother?"

"Which one?" Lucifer asked. "I've got more than I can count and a few I'm reluctant to admit my relation to." Jo chuckled.

"Castiel," she clarified, glancing over at Dean. He had returned to his book, trying to ignore Jo's conversation.

"What about Cas?" Lucifer asked. Jo sighed.

"Well he dumped Dean today." Lucifer let out a long, annoyed groan.

"Fucking _idiot_," he snapped. "I told him that he was overreacting and he didn't fucking listen to me."

"What do you mean?" Jo asked, smacking Dean and putting the phone on speaker. Dean shut the book impatiently and looked up.

"Are you with Dean?" Lucifer asked.

"Yeah. Is that a problem?" Jo answered defensively. Lucifer laughed.

"Calm down, tigress. It's not. I was just wondering." Jo laughed quietly.

"Hey Dean. I want to take this moment to say that I am not endorsing Castiel's stupidity," Lucifer said.

"Well neither am I," Dean muttered. "What did I do?" He heard Lucifer sigh.

"You didn't do anything. Michael did. Cas is apparently certain that Michael knows about you two, even though there is no way he could. He's taking shots in the dark and has no evidence." Dean was staring down at the bedspread with his jaw clenched shut, face pale.

"What did Michael do?" Jo asked quietly. Lucifer sighed.

"He made a scene at church. Had Castiel recite something from Leviticus." Jo ran a hand across her face and through her hair.

"And you're sure he doesn't know?" she asked carefully.

"Pretty damn. If he did, he would've told Uriel and Cas would be out of a house." Dean put his head in his hands and muffled a cry. Jo looked over at him sharply.

"Hey, I'll call you later alright?" she asked, putting an arm around Dean. Lucifer gave a tired sounding sigh and nodded.

"Yeah. I'm gonna talk to Cas when he finally gets his ass up here. See if I can knock some sense into him," Lucifer muttered.

"Right. I'll see you later tonight," Jo said.

"Talk to you later, lovely." Jo smiled and hung up the phone, pulling Dean into a tight hug.

"It'll be alright," she promised. Dean didn't answer.

* * *

Lucifer had just started in on his homework when Castiel finally came upstairs. He didn't bother asking Cas where he had been, waiting for Castiel to say something. When he pulled out his own homework and started it like he hadn't even seen Lucifer, Lucifer cleared his throat.

"Well hello to you, too," he tried joking. Castiel looked up at him for a moment before looking back down to his work. Lucifer sighed and shut his own textbook.

"How was your day?" he tried again. Castiel glanced up and ignored him again.

"How's Dean?" Lucifer asked pointedly. Castiel jumped a little and looked at Lucifer.

"Why do you ask?" he finally answered. Lucifer shrugged.

"He wasn't at lunch today. I was wondering if you knew why," Lucifer lied. Castiel frowned.

"Don't play dumb with me, Lucifer. You dropped Jo off at Dean's. She's called you. You know what happened." Lucifer swung his legs off the bed and leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees, staring at Castiel.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked after a moment. "Are you stupid?" Castiel's eyes flashed an angry blue before he answered.

"What makes it your business?" Castiel snapped. "I can do what I want." Lucifer growled in frustration.

"Not when you're making a huge fucking mistake," he retaliated. "You realize that if Michael knew anything, he wouldn't be playing cat and mouse with you! He'd tell Uriel outright!" Castiel's lips twitched into a sort of snarl.

"I'm saving us all the trouble of dealing with it when it finally does happen, then," he retorted. "You don't get it, Lucifer. If Uriel finds out you have a girlfriend, you'll get a talking to. You'll have to say a few prayers and they'll let you on your merry way. If Uriel knew that I have a boyfriend, he'd make me leave. He'd bar me from my house!" Castiel exclaimed, smashing his textbook shut and shoving it onto the floor. "Don't tell me I'm being stupid for looking out for my own safety! I'm done talking about this!"

"Well I'm not done," Lucifer snapped, standing up and towering over Castiel. "I'm not done, because over the last month you've been the happiest I have _ever_ seen you and it is because of Dean Winchester and now you've gone and thrown it out the window on a hunch! A hunch that our _psychotic _brother has! You're supposed to be the intelligent one, Castiel!" Lucifer yelled, storming out of their bedroom. He slammed the door shut behind him, leaving Castiel sitting on his bed in a sort of angry shock.

Lucifer didn't come back to the room until Castiel was curled up in his pajamas, lights off and back to the door. He didn't say anything to Castiel as he got ready for bed, or the next morning when they both woke up to get ready for school.

Castiel looked for Dean as he walked into the biology room, but Dean wasn't there. He wasn't there at all that day. During lunch, Castiel sulked to the library. He saw Michael and slid in across the table from him. Michael looked up sharply.

"Good afternoon, Castiel," he said after a moment. "I didn't expect to see you here." Castiel remained silent, biting the inside of his lip. Michael frowned.

"Is there a reason you're here?" he tried again. Castiel shrugged.

"I wanted to spend time with my brother," he eventually said. Michael raised an eyebrow.

"I was under the impression that we weren't brothers," he answered evenly. Castiel frowned and nodded.

"I said that out of anger, Michael. I apologized. Can we move on?" he sounded a bit more cross than he had intended. Michael nodded and looked back down at the book he was reading. They didn't speak for the rest of lunch.

There was one more class after lunch before they were let out early for the day. As soon as they returned home, Castiel placed himself in his bed and poured over the books he had checked out from the library, pointedly ignoring Lucifer. After a few hours of homework and watching Castiel read, Lucifer stood up and sighed.

"I'm headed over to Jo's," he said. Castiel ignored him.

"I'll be home around eight," he continued. Castiel didn't respond.

"Be a dick, then," Lucifer snapped, striding out the door. Only when it shut behind him did Castiel look up. He felt awful for being so terrible to Lucifer, who had only ever shown him acceptance and love. He considered going after Lucifer for a moment, but decided against it. He still had homework to do, and he knew Lucifer would be easier to talk to when he came home from Jo's. She had a calming effect on him.

Castiel ventured downstairs around dinnertime to get a snack. Uriel was out for the evening, so no one had bothered cooking. After his brief dinner, Castiel returned to his room to continue reading. At around eight, Lucifer walked back in and flopped onto his bed.

"Did you have a good time at Jo's?" Castiel asked pleasantly, looking up from the book. Lucifer stared at him.

"So you're speaking to me again?" Lucifer asked after a moment. Castiel shrugged.

"I don't have to if you don't want me to," he answered. Lucifer shook his head.

"I don't get it, Cas." Castiel frowned.

"Get what?" he asked. Lucifer ran a hand through his hair.

"I don't get how you can blow me off all day and then talk to me like everything's fine. I mean, you fucking had lunch with _Michael_, who, if you'd recall, is the reason you dumped your boyfriend." Castiel stiffened at the mention of Dean.

"Can we not talk about Dean?" he asked quietly. Lucifer barked a laugh.

"You don't want to talk about Dean because you know that I am right," Lucifer challenged. "You know that Michael doesn't know a damn thing and you feel like shit for dumping Dean. You know what Jo told me tonight?" Castiel was shaking slightly. He said nothing, waiting for Lucifer to continue.

"Jo told me that you didn't even give him an explanation. You completely shut him down. That's a pretty shitty thing to do, Castiel. You know what else?" Castiel didn't answer again, fighting down tears.

"He hasn't even gotten out of bed today because he's so bent out of shape over _you_." Lucifer pointed to Castiel, face flushing. "You know that you can still fix this, but you fucking won't, because you're too much of a coward to stand up for yourself and do what makes you happy." Castiel shot off the bed and stormed out of the room, ignoring Lucifer calling after him. He nearly sprinted down the stairs, pulling his shoes and jacket on midstride before he was walking down the road, zipping his coat up to his chin against the autumn chill. He was angry and crying and couldn't sit in that room while Lucifer yelled at him things he already knew and didn't want to admit to himself. Castiel walked until he had cooled off enough to think. He turned down another road and walked into the neighborhood park. It was deserted thanks to the time of night and the weather. Castiel slid into a swing and dropped his head to his hands, trying to arrange his thoughts.

Lucifer was right. He could still fix it. Dean would listen to an explanation, and Dean would understand. He knew that Dean would. He wanted desperately to call Dean and apologize, beg for forgiveness, cry to him. He was too afraid to, for whatever reason.

Castiel kicked his feet into the ground in frustration, staring up at the sky.

"Tell me what to do," Castiel cried quietly, watching as the stars peeked through the clouds.

* * *

Dean ignored the first time his phone rang, not in the mood to talk to anyone. After the third time, though, he finally reached for the device on his nightstand and checked the caller ID. It was Lucifer. He hesitated before answering.

"Hey," he said with confusion. "What's up?"

"I can't find Castiel," Lucifer said quickly. "I pissed him off and he ran out of the house. That was an hour ago. He's not answering his damn phone and I can't fucking find him." Dean sat up quickly and checked the time. It was nearly ten o'clock at night.

"What'd you do?" Dean asked, changing from his pajama pants into his jeans and throwing on his leather jacket before descending the stairs.

"I brought you up again. Tried to knock some sense into him. He just took off," Lucifer answered, sounding panicked. "I've been driving around for a half hour, and I can't find him."

"Calm down," Dean snapped. "I'm gonna help. Just tell me where you've checked." Dean was slipping his shoes on at that point, ignoring Mary and John's confused looks from the living room. He just looked at them and mouthed 'Cas'.

"Fucking all over the place," Lucifer exclaimed. "I've got no fucking idea where he is!" Dean sighed and grabbed the keys to his car, running out to it.

"Calm down," Dean repeated, climbing into the car. It was freezing cold out. "Just go back to the house in case he decides to come back."

"Right. Call me if you find him, all right? If he doesn't get in the car with you, stay with him until I can get there."

"Yeah, I got it. Get home," Dean retorted, pulling out of his driveway and turning in the direction of Castiel's neighborhood. He ended Lucifer's call and hit Castiel's speed dial. It rang twice before going to voicemail.

"Cas, where the hell are you? Lucifer's freaking the hell out. Call one of us!" Dean hung the phone up and threw it onto the passenger seat, pulling into Castiel's neighborhood and driving past his house. Castiel had only been gone an hour, and Dean found it hard to picture Castiel walking around angry for a solid hour. He had to have stopped somewhere.

It only took Dean fifteen minutes to find the park. He almost didn't see Castiel sitting on one of the swings. He was wearing dark clothes, and it was only because he glanced at the right time that he saw. Dean swerved into the parking lot of the playground and killed the engine. He saw Castiel look up as the Impala pulled in and stop the swinging of his legs. Dean took a breath and climbed out of the car.

"Get in, Cas," he said tiredly. "Let me take you home." Castiel didn't say anything. Dean sighed and slammed the car door shut, walking up to Cas and sitting in the swing next to him.

"How long have you been out here?" he asked, looking over at Cas. Castiel shrugged.

"You've gotta be freezing, Cas," Dean murmured, looking over at Castiel's light jacket. Dean was wearing his heavy leather jacket and he was getting cold.

"I'm fine," Castiel said quietly, looking up at Dean. "I don't want to go home." Dean frowned.

"You can come over to my house," he offered. "Might be awkward. I can sleep on the floor." He chuckled. Castiel shook his head and closed his eyes.

"I made a mistake," he murmured, looking down at the ground. "I made a huge mistake." Dean shrugged.

"You ran out of your house. Not the biggest mistake I've ever seen," he said, trying to cheer Cas up a bit, hoping to get him back home.

"No, Dean. What I did to you was a mistake. I shouldn't have panicked," Castiel clarified. "I thought Michael knew, but Lucifer was right. If Michael knew, he would have said something to Uriel." Castiel looked up at Dean with tear-filled eyes. "I shouldn't have left you." Dean wiped his eyes and shook his head.

"I'm still here, Cas," he said quietly. "I'm here if you want me." Castiel blinked and pulled himself off the swing, moving to stand in front of Dean. He put one hand on Dean's cheek and paused before leaning down to kiss him. Dean stood up and put his hands on the sides of Castiel's face, kissing him back, trying to ignore the fact that they were both crying.

"I'm sorry," Castiel whimpered as he pulled away. "I was scared." Dean nodded and pulled Castiel into a hug, wrapping his arms around Castiel's body and holding him there.

"It's alright, Cas," Dean murmured. "I forgive you. We're alright." He kissed the top of Castiel's head and pulled away, taking his hand.

"Do you want to go home or come to my house?" he asked. Castiel didn't say anything for a moment.

"I need to and apologize to Lucifer," he answered eventually, wiping his face. "Will you wait for me?" Dean smiled and nodded, leading Castiel over to the car. He opened the passenger door and helped Castiel in before getting in the car himself. He reached across and held Castiel's hand until they pulled up to his house.

Dean waited in the car for Castiel to come back out. While he was waiting, he sent Jo a quick message telling her what had happened.

"_Good. You're happier with him_," she answered. Dean smiled and looked up as Castiel pulled the door open, throwing a bag in the back seat.

"Is it alright with your parents that I'm staying the night?" Castiel asked as Dean pulled out of his driveway. Dean shrugged.

"They didn't really question when I ran out of my house at ten at night to go find you. I don't think they'll care." Castiel blushed and shook his head.

"I was a bit dramatic," he mumbled. Dean shrugged.

"I laid in bed and cried all day," he said quietly. "We were both dramatic." Castiel reached over and took Dean's hand again, lacing their fingers together.

"I am sorry, Dean," he murmured, rubbing his thumb across Dean's knuckles. "I don't deserve your forgiveness." Dean shook his head and squeezed Castiel's hand.

"It's all good, Cas," he insisted. "Let's not have a pity party." Castiel chuckled and nodded, leaning back in the seat of the Impala.

When the pulled into the driveway at his house, he put the car in park and leaned over to kiss Castiel, pulling him forward gently. Castiel kissed him back, cupping the sides of Dean's face with shaking hands. Dean lowered his hands to Castiel's waist, pulling him closer. After a moment, Dean pulled back and smiled, pressing his forehead against Cas'.

"We should go inside," he said. "Get to bed." Castiel yawned and nodded, reaching over the seat into the backseat to grab his bag.

Mary was waiting when they walked in, leaning against the wall in the entryway.

"Hey Castiel," she said smiling at him. Castiel smiled and nodded to her, slipping his shoes off.

"Can I talk to you for a minute, Dean?" Mary asked. Dean frowned and nodded, looking to Cas.

"I'll meet you upstairs," he muttered, motioning for Castiel to go up to his room. Castiel nodded and looked to Mary.

"Thank you for letting me stay the night," he said politely before climbing up the stairs. Mary smiled after him and then looked to Dean.

"What happened to him?" Mary asked seriously. "Did he run off?" Dean nodded.

"Yeah. His brother Michael went at him. Lucifer couldn't find him so I offered to help." Mary nodded, crossing her arms.

"Is he hurt? Is anyone at his house hurting him?" Dean shook his head frantically.

"No, he's fine. Everything's fine. He just needed to get out," Dean explained. Mary furrowed her brows but nodded.

"You would tell me if there was, wouldn't you Dean?" she asked.

"Yeah. Of course I would, mom." Mary seemed satisfied with that answer and leaned down to hug Dean goodnight. Dean kissed his mom on the cheek before he took off up the stairs, sliding into his room and locking the door behind him.

Castiel was lying back on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He had changed into his pajamas while Dean was downstairs. He looked up when Dean walked in.

"Is everything alright?" he asked, sitting up. Dean nodded and started to change into his own pajamas.

"She was worried about you," he explained as he changed. "Wanted to make sure Michael didn't beat the crap out of you or something." Castiel chuckled and laid back again.

"He wouldn't lay a finger on me," Castiel laughed. "He's a self-proclaimed pacifist." Dean laughed quietly and flicked his light off, sliding into bed next to Castiel.

"Get under the covers," Dean muttered, awkwardly pulling the covers down under his body and slipping beneath them. Castiel wriggled in next to him. Dean pulled Cas against him and pressed his forehead to the other's, closing his eyes and sighing. Castiel moved forward and kissed Dean quickly.

"I'm sorry," he said again, kissing him again. Dean threaded one of his hands through Castiel's hair and wrapped his other arm around his waist, flipping them so Castiel was straddling him.

"It's alright, Cas," Dean answered. "I told you it was fine." Castiel shook his head and dropped down to kiss Dean's neck. Dean exhaled and his eyes fluttered shut, one hand still hooked through Castiel's hair.

"How can I earn your forgiveness?" Castiel asked against his neck. Dean let out a shaky laugh.

"You've already got it, Cas," he answered. Castiel kissed his jaw and smiled against his skin.

"I asked how I could _earn_ it, Dean." Dean blinked with understanding and gave a small shudder.

"We talked about this, baby," Dean said unsteadily. "I don't want you to do anything you're not comfortable with." Castiel gave him a small smile and kissed him.

"I'm not going to do anything I'm uncomfortable with," he answered. "I want to make it up to you." Castiel pulled Dean's shirt off, throwing it carelessly to the floor. He ran his hands tentatively down Dean's chest, fingers trembling.

"Yours too, Cas," Dean gasped softly, pulling the edges of Castiel's shirt up. Castiel took his own shirt off and it quickly joined Dean's.

Castiel leaned down and kissed Dean, less restrained than their normal kisses. He parted his lips and slowly ran his tongue over Dean's lower lip. Dean gave a small groan and parted his lips, meeting Castiel's tongue halfway.

After a few moments, Castiel broke away and kissed Dean's neck, moving to his chest and working his way down. He paused at the edge of Dean's pajama pants and looked up at him. Dean's face was flushed as he propped himself up on his elbows, looking down at Castiel.

"Cas," he said softly, breath hitching as Castiel slipped a finger under the waistband of his pajama pants.

"Hmm?" Castiel asked, pulling them down, lifting Dean's hips slightly to pull them off. Dean groaned lightly and let his eyes close.

"You don't have to," he said as Castiel played with the band of his underwear.

"I want to," Cas answered. "Do you want me to?" Dean opened his eyes and nodded, swallowing hard. Castiel froze for a moment before he took a breath and worked Dean's underwear down his hips. Dean bit his lip, conscious of the fact his parents and little brother were all on the same floor as he was.

Castiel looked up at Dean before he leaned forward and kissed him, wrapping a shaking hand around Dean's member. Dean groaned against Cas' lips and put his hands on Castiel's waist. He felt Castiel's kiss slip into a smile as he started to move his hand slowly.

Dean's head fell back and his breath hitched as Castiel fixed a rhythm and kissed his neck. Dean's fingers tangled back in Castiel's hair and he gave a shuddering groan.

"Cas," he breathed, pulling Castiel's lips against his. Dean's hips stuttered forward reflexively.

"Good?" Cas asked, speeding his hand up. Dean groaned and kissed Castiel again, nodding.

"Yeah," he managed. "Feels fantastic. Wanna try something," he murmured, pulling himself more upright and reaching for Castiel's pajamas. Cas gave a small groan and dropped his forehead to Dean's shoulder as Dean shoved his pajama pants and underwear down. He tentatively grasped Castiel and stroked him. Castiel's hand faltered and he moaned before starting the rhythm he had before. Dean matched his pace, watching Castiel's reactions.

This was new to both of them; the feeling of so much exposed skin and synchronized movements. Dean could almost feel Castiel's heartbeats and Castiel reveled in the puffs of Dean's breath across his collarbone and the way he arched his back off the bed and moaned. Dean could see Castiel's breath hitch and the muscles in his arms strain as he held himself up with his free hand, the way the moonlight through the blinds played across his face.

"Cas," Dean breathed. "Almost there." Castiel nodded and kissed him, speeding his hand up. Dean mimicked his actions and arched up into Cas' hand, groaning. Castiel moaned when he felt Dean spill over his hand. Cas followed moments later, his face pressed into Dean's neck, body shuddering.

Dean reached around until he found his pajama pants and wiped his hand and stomach off, handing them to Cas to do the same. When he was done, Castiel threw the pants on the floor and rolled to the side of Dean, curling up against him. Dean put his arms around Cas and held him close.

"Dean," Castiel said, "I feel as if I still owe you an explanation for my behavior." Dean kissed the top of his head.

"I told you that I forgive you," Dean murmured tiredly. "Go for it, if it will make you feel better." Castiel nodded and took a deep breath, trying to gather his thoughts. This should have been something he had told Dean from the beginning. It was something he had been hoping to avoid entirely, but Cas knew it was something he needed to say.

"I told you about Anael," Castiel said into his shoulder. "About how Uriel excommunicated her, for lack of better terms." Dean nodded and rubbed lazy circles into Castiel's bare back.

"Yeah. What about her?" he asked tiredly, hand shifting up to play with Cas' hair. Castiel squeezed his eyes shut and steeled his nerves. He knew that Dean wouldn't react well.

"Uriel made her leave because she had a girlfriend." Dean's hand faltered and froze in Castiel's hair.

"What?" he asked, more awake now.

"I should have told you," Cas said quietly.

"Yeah, that was something you should've shared," Dean mumbled, starting through Castiel's hair again. "What happened?"

"Our father came home while Anael had her over," Cas explained. "He caught them and gave Anael twenty minutes to pack her things and leave. He closed her bank account and cut off her phone. We haven't been allowed to speak about her or to her since." Dean nodded and stroked down Castiel's spine.

"I won't let that happen to you," Dean said quietly. He wouldn't let Castiel be forced out of his home because of him. It wouldn't have to come to that.

"I'd let it happen for you," Castiel answered softly. "You're worth it." Dean's hand stilled again for a moment, taken aback by the sincerity in Castiel's voice.

"Cas," Dean murmured. He wasn't sure what else to say.

"Can I say something?" Castiel asked, looking up at him. Dean kissed his forehead and nodded.

"I love you," Cas said simply. Dean blinked and opened his mouth to answer, but couldn't form words. He snapped his mouth shut and closed his eyes for a moment before he opened them again.

"I love you," he answered. Castiel smiled.


End file.
